BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

<> 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


THE  CAREER 


OF 
THE 


STOLEN  BOY, 


MRS.  CAROLINE  Q^KLEY 

AND 

WILLIE  FERN, 


CHARLIE. 


QAKLAND,   QAL. 
WILLIAM  H.  BRIGGS,  PUBLISHER. 

1881. 


13 
Ollc 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  Office  of   the  Librarian  at 
Washington,  D.  0.,  by  WM.  H.  BRIGGS,  Nov.  8,  1880. 


SKEES  &  BTUART,  PRINTERS,  CHICAGO. 


DEDICATION. 

TO   MINNIE,   THE   WIFE   OF   OUR   HERO,   THIS 

BOOK    IS   RESPECTFULLY    DEDICATED, 

BY    ITS    AUTHORS, 

MRS.  CAROLINE  OAKLEY 

AND 

WILLIE  FERN. 


PREFACE. 


THE  within  adventures  are  drawn  from  real 
life,  and  the  scenes  and  incidents  described  are 
pictured  from  the  memories  of  its  hero.  We 
do  not  expect  the  reader  will  find  our  story 
perfect,  but  we  hope  it  will  prove  interesting. 
If  this  result  be  obtained,  our  full  desire  will 
be  gratified. 

With  its  facts  and  adventures,  the  CAREER 
OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY  is  respectfully  offered  to 
the  reading  world  by  its  authors, 

MRS.  CAROLINE  OAKLEY 

AND 

WILLIE  FERN. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

CHARLIE  Ross  is  GONE,"  ...       9 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  BURTON  FAMILY,  -  -          -          15 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  LOST  BOY,       -  •     22 

CHAPTER  IV. 
CHARLIE  AND  WESTON  WITH  THE  INDIANS, 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  TRAPPER'S  CAMP,      - 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  EMIGRANT  TRAIN— DEATH  OF  WESTON, 

CHAPTER  VII. 
CHARLIE  DEPARTS  FOR  THE  LAND  OP  GOLD,   • 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
IN  THE  GOLD  MINES, 101 


VU1  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PAGE. 

MEETING  OP  MOTHER  AND  SON,        -          -          -121 

CHAPTER  X. 
THE  ALTAR  AND  THE  TOMB,        -          -          -          -144 

CHAPTER  XL 
THE  DEATH  OF  OLD  LEECHVEIN,      ...         160 

CHAPTER  XII. 
CHARLIE'S  PROMISE  TO  HIS  MOTHER,     -  -    175 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  PROMISE  FULFILLED,      -          -          -      ,   -        189 


THE 


CHAPTEE    I. 

"I've  seen  the  colors  fading 

From  all  that  I  could  prize, 

Like  day's  departing  glories 

From  out  the  sunset  skies. 

And  full  roughly  I  have  ridden 

The  stormy  tide  of  life, 

And  long  years  have  passed  in  struggling 

In  bitterness  and  strife." 

— T.  B.  THAYEB, 

HAELIE  EOSS  IS  GOKE!  Some- 
~body  has  stolen  Charlie  Ross  /" 
This  was  the  exclamation  of  Willie 
Crawford  as,  with  hoop  and  ball 
in  hand,  he  rushed  into  his  moth- 
er's sitting-room  fro  in  his  play  on  the  street,  closely 
followed  by  Mrs.  Eoss. 

U0h,  Mrs.  Crawford!    What  shall  I  do?    Some- 


10        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

body  has  carried  off  my  Charlie !  What  shall  1 
do!  What  shall  I  do?"  This  Mrs.  Eoss  said 
while  wringing  her  hands  and  pacing  the  room  in 
an  excited  manner. 

Mrs.  Crawford  and  Mrs.  Eoss  were  near  neigh- 
bors, and  warm  friends ;  although  neither  knew 
anything  about  the  other,  except  what  they  had 
seen,  since  that  day,  six  months  ago,  when  Mrs. 
Eoss,  a  widow  with  a  blue-eyed  boy  of  five  years, 
had  rented  the  cottage  in  the  rear,  and  settled 
down  as  straw  sewer  for  the  firm  of  "  Braid  and 
Shepard." 

She  was  very  ladylike  in  her  manners  and  very 
reticent  in  regard  to  ner  past  life;  and  although 
her  neighbors  interviewed  the  boy,  all  they  could 
learn  from  him  was,  that  "his  father  was  dead," 
and  that  "he  had  a  big  brother  John  who  lived  in 
Troy  with  Grandmama."  So  they  accepted  Mrs. 
Eoss  as  " one  who  had  seen  better  days;"  and 
the  widow  and  her  little  boy  soon  became  great 
favorites. 

When  Mrs.  Eoss  first  sent  her  little  boy  to 
school,  she  had  requested  Willie  Crawford  to  take 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOJ.EN  BOY,   CHARLIE.         11_ 

him  under  his  care ;  and  had  sewed  for  both  the- 
boys,  hats  of  much  finer  quality  than  those  worn 
by  the  other  boys  in  the  neighborhood.  She  also 
possessed  a  large  collection  of  books,  well  filled  with 
engravings,  over  which  the  boys  had  spent  many 
happy  hours.  Charlie  and  Willie  were  very  firm 
friends,  and  could  almost  always  be  found  together. 

When  Mrs.  Crawford  had  succeeded  in  calming 
the  distracted  mother,  she  learned  from  her  and 
Willie,  that  a  well-dressed  man,  with  a  buggy,  had 
offered  to  bring  Charlie  home  from  school,  and 
after  Charlie  had  got  into  the  carriage,  the  man 
had  said,  "  It  was  such  a  pleasant  day,  he  would 
drive  around  the  square  first."  Willie  said, 
' '  Charlie  seemed  to  know  the  man,  and  I  thought 
it  was  all  right, .  until  Mrs.  Ross  asked  me  if  I 
knew  where  he  was." 

Mrs.  Ross  had  been  busy  trying  to  finish  her  last 
dozen  of  hats,  so  that  she  might  take  them  to  the 
store  after  supper .  and  obtain  the  money,  to  buy 
Charlie  a  pair  of  shoes,  which  she  thought  he- 
needed,  for  she  liked  to  have  her  little  boy  look  as. 
well  as  any  of  his  mates. 


12        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

Her  tempting  supper  was  waiting,  and  the  last 
"hat  finished,  when  she  noticed  for  the  first  time, 
the  lateness  of  the  hour.  Charlie  had  often  stop- 
ped to  play  with  Willie  Crawford  on  the  street 
before  the  house,  and  there  she  now  sought  him, 
t)nly  to  learn  of  his  abduction ;  and  then  followed 
the  scene  with  which  our  story  opens. 

Mr.  Crawford  came  home  from  his  work  in  the 
rolling-mill,  before  any  one  had  thought  what  was 
the  best  thing  to  be  done.  He  at  once  notified  the 
•Chief  of  Police,  who  promised  that  all  should  be 
•done  that  was  possible,  to  restore  the  "Lost  Boy ;" 
and  sent  one  of  the  "force "  that  evening  to  ques- 
tion Willie,  and  obtain  a  description  of  the  man 
.and  his  buggy.  Mrs.  Ross  was  also  questioned, 
but  she  could  not  think  of  any  one  who  could  have 
any  object  in  stealing  her  boy. 

The  Crawfords  took  the  afflicted  mother  into 
their  own  family,  and  did  all  they  could  to  comfort 
Ler. 

When  a  week  had  passed  without  bringing  any 
tidings  of  the  "Lost  Charlie,"  the  whole  city 
.seemed  to  awake  with  sympathy,  and  the  humble 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

home  of  the  Crawfords  was  daily  besieged  with 
visitors,  who  came  to  offer  comfort  and  aid  to 
the  bereaved  mother.  A  skillful  detective  was 
employed,  and  posters  offering  a  large  reward 
for  information  concerning  the  "Stolen  Boy," 
were  to  be  seen  on  all  the  street  corners  of  the 
city. 

The  detective  had  several  interviews  with  the 
widow,  and  on  one  of  these  occasions,  he  drew 
from  her  the  admission,  that  her  true  name  was 
not  Ross,  but  Burton;  and  that  her  married  life 
had  not  been  pleasant,  and  wishing  her  child  to 
forget  all  about  his  father,  she  had  called  herself 
by  an  assumed  name,  and  hid  herself  in  a  city, 
where  no  one  knew  anything  about  her.  He  also- 
learned  from  her  the  fact,  that  her  relatives  were 
wealthy,  and  pride  had  induced  her  to  conceal  her 
whereabouts  and  circumstances  from  them.  By 
his  advice,  coupled  with  the  hope  that  they  might 
aid  her  in  discovering  her  boy,  she  was  induced  to 
write  to  her  friends  and  acquaint  them  with  her 
situation.  Her  letters  brought  an  immediate 
response,  in  the  person  of  a  wealthy  aunt,  who- 


14         THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

placed  every  means  at  work,  that  wealth  could  pro- 
cure, to  find  the  "missing  Charlie." 

Six  months  passed  away,  during  which,  several 
traces  were  discovered  that  seemed  to  promise 
well,  but  which  only  ended  in  disappointment. 
Once  an  answer  came  to  the  offer  of  reward,  say- 
ing, that  "if  the  money  should  be  sent  to  a  certain 
place  the  boy  would  be  found  there."  But  al- 
though the  money  was  sent  by  a  suitable  agent,  no 
trace  of  the  child  appeared. 

The  bereaved  mother  grew  thin  and  pale ;  the 
trouble  and  suspense  was  fast  wearing  out  her  life; 
and  the  doctors  declared  that  unless  she  had  a 
change  of  air,  and  something  to  take  up  her  mind, 
she  must  soon  'die.  It  was  at  last  decided  to  take 
her  to  San  Francisco,  where  her  brother,  the 
wealthy  Dr.  Rossimere,  had  offered  her  a  home. 
The  voyage  by  sea,  the  changing  scenery,  and  the 
new  life  which  opened  before  her,  restored  her 
health,  and  as  the  years  flew  by,  she  became 
widely  known,  as  the  friend  of  the  poor,  and  com- 
forter of  the  distressed. 


CHAPTER   II. 


"Look  not  thou  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  his  colour 
n  the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright. 

"At  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent,  and  stingeth  like  an  adder." 

— Prov.  23:  31,32. 


EAR  Reader,  turn  back  with  us  about 
four  years,  and  visit  a  city  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  Massachusetts,  where 
we  will  look  upon  a  bright  picture  of 
thirty  years  ago. 
The  time  is  a  winter  evening  in  the  year  1849. 
The  glowing  fire  in  the  open  grate  throws  a  cheer- 
ful light  around  the  cosy  sitting  room,  and  brings 
out  in  bold  relief  the  "  marine  view  "  on  the  wall ; 
the  work  of  an  artist  now  famous  for  his  Fruit 
Pieces. 

On  the  mantle-piece  above  the  grate,  a  vase  of 
red  and  white  chrysanthemums  adds  to  the  cheer- 
fulness of  the  room,  and  gratifies  the  taste  of  its 
lovely  mistress,  who  sits  in  a  low  rocker  beside  the 


16        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

fire,  tenderly  caressing  her  fair-haired,  blue-eyed 
baby,  Charlie  Rossimere  Burton,  the  hero  of  our 
story,  and  the  pet  and  idol  of  both  Father  and 
Mother. 

A  centre-table  is  drawn  up  near  the  fire,  and  cov- 
ered with  a  red  and  black  cloth,  which,  together 
with  the  bright-hued  English  carpet  on  the  floor, 
gives  to  the  room  an  air  of  comfort  and  even 
elegance,  not  often  found  in  the  home  of  a  "Me- 
chanic," thirty  years  ago.  An  astral  lamp  on  the 
centre-table  is  burning  brightly,  and  by  its  light 
Maurice  Burton,  in  his  easy  chair,  looks  over  the 
evening  paper,  pausing  now  and  then  to  read  aloud 
some  interesting  paragraph  to  his  blue-eyed  wife. 

A  brown-eyed,  sun-browned  lad  of  thirteen  sum- 
mers completes  the  family  circle,  and  occupies  the 
centre  of  the  group,  that  he  may  the  more  readily 
attend  the  popping,  bursting  grains  of  corn,  which 
he  has  been  shaking  over  the  fire,  and  now  rises  to 
pour  into  a  white  bowl,  waiting  to  receive  it,  and 
then  presents  it  to  his  aunt  and  uncle  ;  for  he  is  a 
foster-son  of  the  Burton  home  ;  the  orphan  child 
of  Mr.  Burton's  eldest  brother. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE.         IT 

The  rosy-cheeked  baby  has  been  snugly  tucked 
in  his  little  crib,  the  papers  read  and  the  pop-corn 
discussed  ;  John  Burton,  the  foster-son,  had  rubbed 
his  sleepy  eyes,  and  candle  in  hand,  mounted  the 
stairs  to  the  chamber  above ;  Mary  Burton,  the 
fair-haired  wife,  has  mended  the  last  garment  in 
her  work  basket  and  carefully  put  away  her  thread, 
thimble  and  needles ;  when  Maurice  rises  with  a 
yawn,  and  going  to  the  corner  cupboard,  he  pro- 
duces a  decanter  and  glass,  with  the  remark,  "I 
believe  that  pop-corn  has  made  me  thirsty."  He 
places  the  half  filled  glass  to  his  lips  and  drains  it, 
saying,  "  That  is  splendid  'Cherry,'  Wife!  I  be- 
lieve you  improve  every  year  on  your  wines  and 
fancy  rums. ' '  Ah !  you  see  the  serpent  coiled 
amid  the  flowers  of  this  Eden  home. 

Maurice  Burton  was  one  of  Nature's  noblemen. 
He  possessed  manly  beauty,  bright  intellect,  vig- 
orous health,  and  a  kind  heart.  He  was  known 
among  his  neighbors  as  a  model  husband,  and 
would  have  indignantly  denied  the  idea  that  he 
could  ever  become  a  drunkard.  And  his  wife  (it 
was  the  custom  thirty  years  ago)  put  up  the  cur- 


18        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

rant,  elderberry,  and  blackberry  wines,  and  pre- 
pared boxberry  rum  and  cherry  rum,  without  a 
thought  that  she  was  spreading  a  snare  for  her 
husband  and  furnishing  the  means  to  wreck  her 
whole  life. 

Three  years  have  passed  away,  bringing  many 
sad  changes  ;  and  the  happy  home  life  of  the  Bur- 
tons has  become  a  thing  of  the  past.  In  a  small 
tenement  containing  two  rooms,  neatly,  but  plainly 
furnished,  we  find  Mary  Burton  and  her  Charlie, 
now  a  bright-eyed  boy  of  four  summers. 

The  serpent  which  she  nursed  in  her  home  has 
grown  to  a  "  hydra-headed  "  monster,  destroying 
her  happiness,  and  nearly  crushing  out  her  own 
life.  Yes,  Maurice  Burton,  the  man  she  had  once 
so  proudly  called  i '  my  husband,  "is  now  a  lost, 
degraded  drunkard,  working  only  to  gratify  his  in- 
sane thirst  for  the  maddening  drink,  finding  a  shel- 
ter where  he  may. 

Slowly  and  imperceptibly,  the  dreadful  appetite 
had  been  formed,  and  neither  husband  or  wife  was 
aware  of  the  danger  until  too  late  to  crush  it. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  EOT,   CHARLIE.         19 

When  the  dreadful  fact  became  apparent  to  Mary 
Burton  that  her  husband  was  really  a  drunkard, 
she  was  at  first  angry  at  the  disgrace,  and  by  her 
coldness  and  angry  words,  drove  him  more  and 
more  from  his  home,  until  at  last  he  was  discharged 
from  work,  and  the  whole  burden  of  the  family  fell 
upon  the  delicate  woman  all  unused  to  such  a  posi- 
tion. Naturally  proud-spirited,  she  felt  the  dis- 
grace of  her  situation  keenly ;  her  disposition  that 
had  been  sunny,  grew  sour ;  and  the  home  which 
had  been  so  happy,  soon  became  one  of  entire 
misery,  to  all  but  the  child  too  young  to  know  its 
bitterness. 

At  last  the  disappointed  and  despairing  wife 
sued  for,  and  obtained  a  divorce,  the  Judge  giving 
her  the  custody  of  the  boy. 

The  divided  home  no  longer  furnished  a  pleasant 
abiding-place  for  the  "foster-son,"  John  Burton, 
and  he  found  a  home  with  his  father's  sister ;  which 
was  also  the  home  of  Maurice  Burton's  mother; 
and  they,  the  mother  and  sister,*sympathized  with 
the  ruined  husband,  and  were  inclined  to  blame 


20        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY.   CHARLIE. 

the  divorced  wife  for  not  clinging  to  her  husband 
in  his  degraded  condition.  This  home  furnished 
shelter  to  Maurice  Burtop,  when  at  rare  intervals 
he  was  sober  ;  and  sometimes  he  would  stagger  to 
this  refuge,  when  the  shops  which  furnished  him 
poison,  and  sometimes  food  in  return  for  labor  per- 
formed, could  use  him  no  longer. 

At  such  times,  when  the  madness  had  passed 
away,  the  mother  and  sister  would  plead  with  him 
to  mend  his  ways,  and  he  would  promise  to  re- 
form ;  and  sometimes  kept  the  promise  nearly  three 
months ;  but  the  appetite  that  had  been  so  long  in- 
dulged would  always  gain  the  victory. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  occasions,  that  Maurice 
Burton  left  his  sister's  home,  to  search  for  em- 
ployment. He  had  kept  sober  for  two  months, 
and  that  morning  in  response  to  the  earnest  counsel 
of  his  mother  and  sister,  had  promised  that  he 
would  never  touch  another  drop.  He  had  an- 
nounced his  intention  of  seeking  work  among  the 
neighboring  farmers,  promising  his  sister  that  when 
he  obtained  work,  he  would  send  her  word. 

His  mother  was  very  sure  that  he  would  keep 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         21 

his  promise  to  reform  this  time.  It  could  never 
be  that  her  boy  would  die  a  drunkard. 

"  His  father,  '  the  Doctor,'  was  such  a  nice  man ; 
and  then  Maurice  was  always  such  a  nice,  smart 
boy.  If  he  had  only  had  a  different  wife,  he  would 
have  made  a  better  man." 

When  a  week  had  passed,  without  hearing  from 
him,  his  mother  and  sister  began  to  grow  uneasy. 
Inquiries  only  traced  him  to  the  village,  where  he 
had  purchased  some  bread  and  cheese,  and  left,  say- 
ing he  was  going  into  the  country  to  obtain  work. 

A  week  later  a  body  was  washed  ashore  near 
the  village  tavern,  and  claimed  and  buried  by  his 
mother  and  sister,  as  the  last  remains  of  Maurice 
Burton. 

Mary  Burton  did  not  attend  the  funeral,  nor  let 
her  boy  do  so.  "  I  do  not  wish  him  to  remember 
the  father  who  has  disgraced  him,"  she  said  to  John 
Burton,  when  he  asked  her  to  let  him  take  Charlie. 

Soon  after  the  funeral,  Mary  Burton  removed  to 
the  city  in  which  we  find  her  at  the  opening  of  our 
story,  and  assumed  the  name  of  Ross,  which  was 
part  of  her  maiden  name. 


CHAPTEE   III. 


"I  fain  would  tell,  but  mothers  know 
What  joy,  and  love,  and  bliss, 
Lies  in  a  darling's  dimpled  arms, 
And  in  a  baby's  kiss, 
And  what  a  world  of  grief  and  woe 
Lies  in  an  empty  crib, 
With  little  garments  hung  away, 
And  trinkets  locked  and  hid. 
For  Oh!  my  boy  is  lost,  is  lost." 

—MBS.  C.  A.  PHILLIPS. 

what  of  the  lost  Charlie  f  When 
Maurice  Burton  left  his  sister's  home 
to  look  for  employment,  he  firmly 
resolved  to  be  a  better  man  ;  and  as 
he  walked  along  the  highway,  to- 
wards the  farming  districts,  he  kept  turning  this 
resolution  over  in  his  mind,  and  began  to  dream  of 
a  future  in  which  he  saw  himself  once  more  a  re- 
spected member  of  society.  And  as  this  pleasant 
vision  passed  before  his  mind's  eye,  everything 
in  nature  seemed  to  harmonize  with  it.  The  birds 
sang  their  sweetest  songs ;  and  the  summer  air 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         23 

seemed  laden  with  the  perfume  of  sweet-brier  and 
clover,  bringing  memories  of  his  boyhood  days, 
when  his  mother  used  to  be  so  proud  of  him. 

He  rested  at  the  village  tavern,  and  found 
strength  to  refuse  "  the  treat  of  a  glass  of  gin," 
which  the  bartender  urged  upon  him. 

When  again  on  the  road,  the  thought  occurred 
to  him,  "  If  I  obtain  work  with  any  of  the  farmers 
of  W ,  I  am  so  well  known  that  I  shall  be  con- 
stantly asked  to  drink,  and  then" — .  He  had 
reached  a  point  where  two  roads  met,  and  as  he 
paused,  there  came  to  him  this  resolve,  "  I  will 
strike  out  for  a  place  where  I  am  not  known  ;  and 
if  I  cannot  make  a  man  of  myself,  I  will  not  let 
the  folks  at  home  know  what  has  become  of  me  ; 
for  I'm  nothing  but  a  burthen  and  disgrace  to  them 
anyway." 

With  this  decision  in  his  mind,  he  turned  his 
back  on  the  familiar  road,  and  hurried  away  in  an 
opposite  direction,  as  though  fleeing  from  some 
phantom  which  pursued  him. 

He  never  knew  how  many  miles  he  traveled  that 
day ;  his  mind  was  conscious  of  only  one  idea,  that 


24        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

was,  to  place  as  great  a  distance  as  possible  be- 
tween himself  and  his  former  associates. 

When  the  golden  sun  was  sinking  behind  the 
western  hills,  and  the  long  summer  day  was  draw- 
ing to  its  close,  he  found  himself  before  the  gate 
at  a  large  farmhouse :  this  he  entered,  and  passing 
to  the  rear  of  the  house,  asked  for  shelter  and 
food  from  the  man  who  answered  his  knock  at  the 
kitchen  door.  » 

"Who  are  you  anyway?  And  where  are  you 
from?" 

"My  name  is  Worth;  I  belong  in  Dartmouth." 
Which  was  a  part  of  the  truth,  for  Maurice  Worth 
Burton  had  been  born  in  Dartmouth,  and  so  had 
his  father  before  him.  "  I  am  looking  for  work; 
do  you  want  to  hire  a  man  ?  " 

"What  could  you  do?  If  you  know  anything 
about  hay,  I  would  like  to  hire  you,  for  I  am  terri- 
bly short-handed  in  that  line." 

"I  can  mow,  rake,  or  pitch;  have  spent  all  of 
my  early  life  on  a  farm ;  and  I  could  shoe  your 
horse,  or  new  tire  your  wheels,  if  you  could  fur- 
nish the  proper  tools." 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE.         25 

"  Well,  you're  just  the  man  I  want.  Come  in, 
Stranger,  and  if  you  can  work  half  as  well  as  you 
can  talk,  I  will  find  you  plenty  to  do  in  the  morn- 
ing." 

Maurice  was  furnished  with  a  good  supper,  and 
comfortable  bed ;  he  awoke  quite  refreshed,  and 
before  nightfall,  he  had  convinced  his  employer 
that  he  was  just  the  inan  he  wanted,  and  was  en- 
gaged at  liberal  wages  for  the  rest  of  the  season. 

The  first  two  weeks,  he  found  himself  too  tired 
each  night  to  write  to  his  mother  and  sister ;  and 
then  an  event  occurred  which  prevented  their  ever 
meeting  again  in  this  world. 

The  popular  paper  of  the  county  came  every 
week  to  the  farmhouse  ;  and  Mr.  Forrest  (that  was 
the  farmer's  name)  usually  read  the  news  aloud, 
while  his  wife  darned  the  stockings,  the  boys  ate 
apples,  and  the  farm  hands  dozed  in  their  chairs, 
or  stretched  at  full  length  on  the  kitchen  floor. 

The  paper  had  been  brought  from  the  mail  on 
Thursday  evening  of  the  second  week  since  Mau- 
rice's appearance  at  the  farmhouse,  and  the  read- 
ing was  progressing  as  usual ;  Maurice  was  seated 


26        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

with  his  legs  astride  a  flag-bottom  chair,  his  arms 
resting  on  the  back,  and  his  head  resting  on  his 
hands  ;  not  listening  to  the  reading,  but  trying  to 
determine  how  to  shape  his  future  life.  Suddenly 
a  name  arrested  his  attention,  and  caused  him  to 
listen  intently  to  the  end  of  the  paragraph. 

"FOUND  DROWNED. 

•  "  Monday  morning  a  body  was  washed  ashore  near  Union 
Tavern,  on  the  Troy  turnpike,  and  was  identified  by  the  clothes 
as  the  last  remains  of  Maurice  Burton,  who  disappeared  from 
his  home  about  a  week  ago.  Burton  was  a  drinking  man,  and 
was  last  seen  near  the  tavern.  It  is  supposed  that  he  must 
have  fallen  into  the  river  while  drunk.  The  body  was  claimed 
and  buried  by  his  sister,  Mrs.  Vincent,  of  Troy." 

The  paragraph  was  finished,  and  commented 
upon  by  different  members  of  the  family,  and  the 
reader  passed  on  to  other  subjects. 

The  current  of  Maurice's  thoughts  was  changed. 
If  he  was  already  dead  to  his  friends,  then  he 
would  never  undeceive  them,  until  he  could  go 
back  a  man  they  would  be  proud  to  know.  The 
"California  gold  fever"  was  at  its  height.  Why 
not  go  to  the  "gold  diggings?"  He  had  good 
abilities,  and  could  easily  work  his  way  there. 

Then  came  the  thought  of  his  boy ;  down  deep 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOTEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         2T 

in  this  man's  heart  was  a  tender  love  for  the  child 
who  had  once  been  his  idol ;  and  the  bitterest  hour 
of  his  life  had  been  when  the  divorce  obtained  by 
his  wife,  had  taken  from  him  his  little  Charlie. 

When  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  he  had 
never  been  abusive  to  the  child ;  and  after  the  di- 
vorce, he  had  often  sought  the  little  boy  at  his  play 
in  the  backyard,  and  given  him  cakes  or  candy. 
In  his  mind  now,  there  was  a  vivid  picture  of  the  . 
little  boy  as  he  had  seen  him  about  two  months 
before  ;  the  little  curly  head  leaning  far  over  the 
well  curb,  looking  vainly  for  the  hat  he  had  lost  in 
the  depths  below.  His  father  had  fished  out  the 
lost  hat,  and  sent  him  to  his  mother  with  it ;  and 
this  was  the  last  time  they  had  met. 

14  If  I  only  had  the  boy  to  take  with  me." 
"  Are  you  asleep,  Maurice  ?  "  It  was  Tim  Jones, 
his  room-mate.  Mr.  Forrest  had  finished  reading, 
and  was  locking  up  for  the  night ;  this  was  a  well 
understood  signal  for  all  hands  to  go  to  bed.  Mau- 
rice went  to  his  room  and  to  bed,  but  not  to  sleep  ; 
and  when  the  morning  dawned,  his  plans  for  the 
future  were  all  formed. 


28    THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

When  the  farming  season  closed,  Maurice  had 
quite  a  sum  of  money  in  his  pocket.  Mr.  Forrest 
would  have  kept  him  through  the  winter,  for  he 
was  an  excellent  blacksmith,  and  there  was  a  forge 
on  the  farm ;  but  he  declined  to  remain,  saying  he 
was  anxious  to  return  to  his  friends. 

He  had  changed  very  much  in  appearance  since 
lie  left  his  sister's  home.  The  sun  had  browned  his 
usually  pale  cheek,  and  he  had  allowed  his  beard  and 
mustache  to  grow,  so  his  mother  believing  him 
-dead,  would  not  have  recognized  him  on  the  street. 

The  thriving  city  of  B was  only  four  miles 

distant  from  Mr.  Forrest's  farm  ;  and  thither  Mau- 
rice bent  his  footsteps  on  leaving  the  farmhouse. 
So  many  men  had  left  their  homes  for  the  i '  Land 
of  Gold,"  that  he  found  no  difficulty  in  obtaining 
a  chance  to  work  his  passage  on  the  steamboat  ply- 
ing between  B and  Troy  ;  and  one  of  the  deck 

hands  falling  sick,  he  was  asked  to  take  his  place. 
Finding  that  the  boat  would  remain  over  night  in 
Troy,  he  immediately  accepted  the  situation ;  and 
found  that  he  had  plenty  of  time  to  reconnoitre  the 
scenes  of  his  former  life. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHAELIE.         29 

He  soon  learned  that  his  wife  and  son  had  left 
the  city,  and  that  their  whereabouts  was  unknown  ; 
but  his  knowledge  of  her  character  pointed  out  to 
him  the  place  in  which  she  would  be  the  most 
likely  to  take  refuge.  When  his  job  on  the  boat 
was  finished,  he  sought  and  obtained  work  as  a 
blacksmith  in  the  city  of  P . 

When  the  maples  were  putting  forth  their  leaves, 
Maurice  Burton's  plans  had  reached  maturity.  He 
had  nursed  the  idea  that  he  had  as  good  a  right  to 

his  boy  as  the  child's  mother  had,  until  any  means 

• 

of  obtaining  him  seemed  right  to  his  mind.  He 
gave  no  thought  to  the  anguish  his  loss  would 
cause  him,  but  dwelt  only  on  the  pleasure  of  hav- 
ing him  constantly  by  his  side,  and  teaching  him 
to  love  him  alone. 

He  had  kept  the  last  promise  he  ever  made  his 
mother  faithfully ;  and  had  hoarded  every  cent  of 
his  wages,  not  necessary  for  food  or  clothes,  with 
a  miser's  care ;  some  of  the  time  he  had  worked 
over  hours  enough  to  pay  his  board  bill. 

He  gave  his  notice  at  the  shop,  saying  that  he 
was  intending  to  start  for  California ;  and  some  of 


30         THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

his  shop-mates  even  saw  him  aboard  of  the  cars 
that  connected  with  the  u  Sound  Steamers,"  and 
bade  him  good-bye,  wishing  him  good  luck.  But 
none  of  them  knew  that  he  left  the  train  at  the 
first  station,  and  took  a  room  at  a  third-class  hotel, 
where,  with  the  aid  of  a  pair  of  scissors  and  razor, 
he  altered  his  appearance  very  much.  Over-work 
Lad  paled  his  sun-browned  face  ;  and  when  the 
barber  had  cut  and  combed  his  hair  to  suit  him,  he 
looked  very  much  like  the  Maurice  Burton  of 
other  days. 

He  paid  his  bill  at  the  hotel,  and  hired  a  horse 
and  buggy  at  a  stable  to  take  him  back  to  the  city. 
We  have  seen  that  he  found  no  difficulty  in  induc- 
ing Charlie  to  ride  home  from  school  with  him. 
The  little  boy  had  never  seen  a  dead  person,  and 
never  been  to  a  funeral ;  and  when  he  had  been 
told  that  his  father  was  dead,  it  conveyed  no  other 
impression  to  his  mind  than  that  he  had  gone 
away  somewhere  ;  so  it  did  not  seem  at  all  strange 
to  have  the  man  who  had  given  him  candy  and 
cakes  the  year  before  offer  to  bring  him  home 
from  school. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         31 

The  proposed  ride  around  the  square  furnished 
a  plea  for  driving  out  on  the  country  road ;  and 
apples,  candy,  and  talk  about  John  and  Grandma 
made  the  ride  seem  short ;  and  the  glasses  of  soda 
which  Maurice  purchased  at  a  druggist's  for  him- 
self and  Charlie  furnished  the  means  of  drugging 
the  child,  so  that  slumber  closed  his  eyes  before 
he  had  time  to  think  of  the  mother,  who  was  wait- 
ing for  his  coming. 

Maurice  reached  the  town  where  he  had  hired 
the  carriage,  left  it  at  the  stable,  and  wrapping  the 
sleeping  child  in  the  blanket  shawl  which  he  had 
bought  for  that  purpose,  hurried  on  board  the  last 
train,  just  as  it  was  leaving  the  depot.  He  had  no 
baggage  to  bother  him,  for  he  had  never  kept  any 
supply  on  hand,  except  an  extra  shirt;  this  he 
now  had  folded  under  his  close  buttoned  coat. 

When  the  stolen  child  awoke  from  his  enforced 
slumber,  he  was  lying  in  the  berth  of  one  of  the 
staterooms  of  the  Empire  State,  which  made 
nightly  trips  through  Long  Island  Sound.  As 
soon  as  he  realized  his  surroundings,  he  began  to 
cry  for  "mama,"  and  it  was  a  long  time  before 


32        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

his  father  could  pacify  him.  The  terrible  fit  of 
sea-sickness  which  soon  came  over  the  boy,  helped 
the  abductor's  plans  very  much,  for  it  confined 
him  to  the  stateroom,  and  kept  him  so  weak  that 
he  did  not  know  when  the  boat  reached  the  wharf. 
Maurice  found  himself  obliged  to  remain  three 
days  at  the  third  class  hotel  at  which  he  stopped, 
before  Charlie  was  able  to  travel  again. 

The  next  week,  when  everybody  was  talking 
about  "  the  missing  Charlie,"  no  one  who  remem- 
bered the  poor,  Westward  bound  emigrant  and  his 
sick  boy,  thought  of  connecting  him  with  the  ab- 
duction of  the  missing  child. 

"With  his  mind  dulled  by  recent  illness,  Maurice 
found  no  difficulty  in  convincing  Charlie  that  his 
mother  was  dead ;  and  as  he  bestowed  upon  him 
the  most  tender  care,  he  soon  won  him  to  love  him 
as  fondly  as  he  could  wish. 

We  have  seen  that  the  story  of  the  "  kidnapped 
boy  "  had  been  sent  everywhere,  with  a  descrip- 
tion of  his  person,  the  color  of  his  eyes  and  hair, 
and  every  particular  that  seemed  necessary  to  lead 
to  his  recovery.  The  news-boys  cried  their  papers 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.        33 

with  all  about  the  "  Stolen  Boy"  in  the  very  cars 
where  Maurice  traveled ;  but  no  one  hearing  the 
sound,  suspected  that  the  light-haired  boy,  sleep- 
ing so  sweetly  in  his  father's  arms,  was  the  "  Kid- 
napped Charlie  "  of  whom  a  whole  city  was  at  that 
moment  thinking — conjecturing  various  theories 
for  the  cause  of  his  abduction,  but  never  guessing 
the  truth.  And  his  mother  wetting  her  pillow 
with  tears,  and  in  her  sleepless  agony  picturing 
her  "lost  boy"  in  all  manner  of  painful  situa- 
tions ;  but  never  for  a  moment  thinking  of  him  as 
sleeping  in  the  arms  of  love. 

Two  weeks  after  the  abduction  found  Maurice 
and  his  child  at  the  terminus  of  railway  travel  in 
the  Northwest ;  and  after  three  days  by  stage,  he 
left  the  main  road,  to  seek  the  abode  of  a  man  of 
whom  he  had  heard  in  one  of  the  stages  by  which 
he  had  traveled.  It  was  told  that  this  man,  who 
was  known  as  the  "  Squatter,"  lived  all  alone  in  a 
little  cabin  in  the  wilderness  ;  and  Maurice,  finding 
his  money  nearly  all  gone,  and  himself  and  Char- 
lie very  much  in  need  of  rest,  had  resolved  to  ask 
this  ' '  lone  hermit ' '  for  shelter  for  a  few  days. 


34        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

He  found  the  cabin,  after  nearly  a  day's  journey 
on  foot,  during  which  he  carried  Charlie  a  great 
part  of  the  way  in  his  arms  or  on  his  shoulders. 

The  hermit,  whose  name  was  Arthur  Weston, 
gave  the  tired  man  permission  to  remain  with  him 
for  a  few  days  ;  and  Maurice  and  his  little  boy  re- 
tired early  to  the  bed  of  dried  grass,  which  was 
the  best  his  host  had  to  offer. 

After  his  night's  rest  he  found  himself  too  sick 
to  leave  his  bed.  He  had  told  Weston  the  night 
before  that  his  wife  was  dead,  and  that  he  intended 
to  travel  on,  with  his  little  boy,  until  he  reached 
the  "Land  of  Gold."  With  rest  after  the  tire- 
some journey,  came  reaction  and  lassitude  ;  from 
the  loss  of  his  whiskers  a  severe  cold  had  been 
taken ;  this  had  been  neglected,  until  a  hacking 
cough  had  set  in;  congestion  of  the  lungs  fol- 
lowed ;  and  for  two  weeks  Maurice  was  unable  to 
help  himself  in  the  least.  But  Weston,  although 
a  very  rough  and  lawless  man,  cared  for  him  as 
tenderly  as  a  woman  might ;  and  quite  won  the 
heart  of  the  blue-eyed  Charlie,  by  the  flowers  and 
berries  that  he  brought  for  his  amusement ;  for  the 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         35 

child  very  rarely  left  the  bedside  of  his  father,  ex- 
cept to  eat  his  meals. 

When  the  bright  days  of  June  appeared,  Mau- 
rice was  able  to  walk  out  a  little,  but  his  strength 
never  came  back.  The  hacking  cough  continued, 
and  when  September  winds  began  to  whistle  around 
the  cabin,  a  grave  was  dug  under  the  big  "  cotton- 
wood,"  and  there  Arthur  Weston  buried  the  bro- 
ken-hearted man  whose  early  promise  of  a  noble 
life  had  been  quenched  by  "the  harmless  glass  of 
home-made  wine." 

"  As  righteousness  tendeth  to  life:  so  he  that  pursueth  evil 
pursueth  it  to  his  own  death." — PROV.  11:  19. 


CHAPTEK    IV. 


"  And  oft  though  wisdom  wake,  suspicion  sleeps 

At  wisdom's  gate,  and  to  simplicity 

Resigns  her  charge,  while  goodness  thinks  no  ill 

"Where  no  ill  seems."  —MILTON. 


TJKING  the  last  illness  of  Maurice 
Burton,  Arthur  Weston  had  given 
him  all  the  care  and  comfort  that 
was  in  his  power  to  bestow,  and 
the  dying  man  had  confided  to  him 
the  whole  sad  story  of  his  wrecked  life,  and  en- 
treated him  to  restore  the  "Stolen  Boy"  to  his 
mother,  if  it  should  ever  be  possible.  This  Weston 
readily  promised  to  do,  but  mentally  resolved  that 
it  should  never  be  possible-;  for  although  Maurice 
had  confided  in  him  without  reserve,  he  knew 
nothing  about  him  except  that  he  had  been  kind  to 
him  in  his  great  extremity — yet  these  two  men 
had  met  before. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         37 

Ten  years  before  the  opening  of  our  story,  the 
pretty  Mary  Rossimere  had  many  suitors ;  for  a 
long  time  her  preference  seemed  to  be  equally  di- 
vided between  two ;  for  her  family  preferred  the 
son  of  the  wholesale  liquor  dealer;  and  her  heart 
chose  Maurice  Burton,  the  machinist.  She  at  last 
decided  the  question  by  accepting  Maurice  Burton ; 
and  from  that  time  very  little  notice  was  taken  of 
her,  by  her  family,  until  the  abduction  of  her  boy 
led  her  to  appeal  to  them  for  help,  which  brought 
out  their  ready  sympathy  in  her  behalf. 

Meanwhile  her  discarded  suitor,  who  had  always 
been  known  as  a  fast  young  man,  grew  more  wild 
and  reckless  in  his  habits.  The  failure  of  his 
father  in  business,  forced  him  to  rely  on  his  own 
labor  for  support.  He  had  never  been  taught  to 
work,  and  he  now  thought  himself  too  old  to  learn 
a  trade;  and  his  past  habits  made  him  unable. to 
obtain  a  clerkship ;  so  the  only  place  that  seemed 
open  to  him  was  behind  a  bar.  Here  he  sunk  rap- 
idly, and  one  year  before  our  story  opens,  he  fled 
from  justice,  carrying  with  him  the  proceeds  of  a 
successful  burglary. 


38        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

He  had  found  no  place  safe  from  the  "eye  of  the 
law,"  except  the  wilds  of  frontier  life;  here  lie 
found  a  "squatter"  anxious  to  sell  his  cabin  and 
stock  at  a  low  figure,  that  he  might  emigrate  far- 
ther west.  He  liad  made  the  purchase,  and  since 
then  dwelt  in  security,  as  far  as  the  law  was  con- 
cerned, but  leading  a  very  lonely  life. 

The  coming  of  Maurice  and  little  Charlie  to  his 
Lome,  had  been  a  pleasant  break  in  its  monotony ; 
and  when  the  poor  man  grew  confidential,  the  story 
that  he  told  filled  the  heart  of  his  listener  with 
pleasure.  The  woman  who  had  discarded  him  for 
another,  had  not  found  happiness  with  the  husband 
of  her  choice;  and  now  it  was  in  his  power  to 
withhold  her  dearest  earthly  treasure.  The  joy  he 
felt  at  this  thought,  may  have  added  to  the  tender- 
ness with  which  he  nursed  the  dying  man,  for  he 
had  been  the  means  of  placing  this  revenge  in  his 
way. 

Charlie  felt  the  loss  of  his  father  bitterly,  and 
every  day  he  would  beg  to  be  taken  to  "  Mama ;  " 
but  his  new  guardian  put  him  off  with  the  plea, 
that  he  could  not  go  until  after  the  harvest.  And 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE.         39 

as  he  really  tried  to  make  the  little  cabin  as  pleas- 
ant as  possible  to  the  fatherless  boy,  the  little  fel- 
low soon  ceased  to  plead  uto  go  to  Mama,"  wait- 
ing with  heroic  patience  for  the  harvest  to  end. 
And  while  Charlie  was  patiently  waiting  for  the 
end  of  the  harvest,  his  heart-broken  mother  and 
her  friends  were  asking  each  other  what  should  be 
done  next ;  every  means  had  been  tried,  but  not  a 
single  clue  had  led  to  anything  but  disappoint- 
ment. 

We  might  drop  a  fish  into  the  ocean,  and  the 
most  diligent  search  might  fail  to  find  it  again ; 
so  although  it  was  well  known  that  Charlie  went 
away  with  a  man  in  a  buggy,  all  further  trace  of 
him  seemed  as  effectually  lost,  as  though  the  earth 
opened  and  swallowed  him  up. 

Those  readers  of  these  pages,  who  have  traveled 
over  thinly  settled  districts,  and  through  new  and 
wild  country,  can  easily  judge  how  little  prospect 
there  was  of  Charlie  ever  being  restored  to  his 
mother,  except  his  guardian  should  so  will  it. 

When  the  produce  was  all  gathered,  and  Weston 
began  to  get  ready  for  "market,"  Charlie  was 


40        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

nearly  wild  with  delight,  and  could  scarcely  wait 
for  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  they  were  to 
start.  The  load  was  to  be  carried  in  a  lumber 
wagon,  drawn  by  two  yoke  of  oxen;  and  a  "nest" 
was  made  for  the  little  boy  in  one  corner,  and  fur- 
nished with  a  buffalo  robe  and  a  blanket. 

The  first  day  passed  very  pleasantly  to  the  eager 
child.  The  late  autumn  flowers,  the  singing  birds, 
and  squirrels  which  he  sometimes  left  the  team  to 
chase,  all  ministered  to  the  pleasure  of  his  ride. 
His  heart  was  light  for  he  thought  he  was  going 
home.  He  had  traveled  so  fast  away  from  his 
home,  that  he  did  not  realize  that  it  would  take 
weeks  to  get  back  again. 

The  second  day  was  more  monotonous ;  he 
seemed  to  have  lost  his  interest  in  the  squirrels, 
and  remained  all  day  curled  up  in  his  buffalo  robe. 
The  third  morning  he  awoke  flushed  and  unre- 
freshed ;  "and  it  soon  became  evident  to  Weston, 
that  the  child  was  sick,  and  that  he  would  have  to 
leave  him  at  an  Indian  village,  which  was  about 
four  miles  from  the  u trading  post;"  and  with 
whose  inhabitants  he  was  somewhat  acquainted. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         41 

He  had  been  able  to  render  some  assistance  to  the 
tribe,  and  they  seemed  very  friendly  towards  him. 
And  they  readily  consented  to  take  care  of  the 
boy,  while  he  finished  his  journey. 

Charlie  was  very  unwilling  to  be  left  behind,  but 
when  Weston  told  him  that  "he  would  surely  die, 
and  never  see  his  mother,  if  he  did  not  remain," 
he  yielded  at  once.  One  of  the  Indian  women 
took  the  boy  under  especial  care,  and  by  her  skill- 
ful nursing  succeeded  in  breaking  up  the  fever  with 
which  he  seemed  to  be  threatened. 

It  took  Weston  two  days  to  transact  his  busi- 
ness at  the  "trading  post,"  and  it  was  not  until 
the  evening  of  the  third,  that  he  reached  the 
Indian  village,  where  they  urged  him  to  remain  all 
night.  He  had  brought  them  liberal  gifts  of  am- 
munition and  tobacco,  and  could  tell  them  consid- 
erable news  from  the  outside  world.  To  Charlie 
he  brought  the  intelligence  that  he  had  written  to 
his  mother;  and  he  promised  to  ride  over  on  the 
"  pony"  in  a  week  to  get  his  answer. 

When  the  Indians  found  that  their  visitor 
intended  to  return  in  a  week,  they  offered  to  keep 


42        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

the  child,  who  was  really  unfit  to  travel;  and 
Charlie,  feeling  that  he  was  so  much  nearer  home, 
begged  to  remain.  On  finding  that  the  child  had 
not  told  anything  about  himself,  and  obtaining 
from  him  a  promise  that  he  would  say  nothing 
about  his  past  life,  he  concluded  to  leave  him. 

In  four  days  he  was  back  again,  with  his  ox  team 
and  supplies;  stating,  that  "he  had  found  his 
cabin  a  smoking  ruin ;  and  that  his  pony  and  all 
his  farming  tools  had  disappeared."  The  place 
had  probably  been  plundered  and  burned  by  some 
roving  band  of  Indians.  The  friendly  Indians 
made  room  for  him  in  one  of  their  wigwams  ;  and 
he  gave  them  the  load  of  supplies  he  had  brought 
for  his  own  use. 

Charlie   soon   regained  his   strength ;    and  his 
Indian  nurse  made  for  him  a  suit  of  buckskin,  as  a 
token  of  her  love,  which  pleased  the  child  very 
much ;  for  his   clothes  were  becoming  very  thin  • 
and  worn. 

After  four  days  Weston  again  departed  for  the 
"trading  post,"  telling  Charlie  he  would  bring 
him  news  from  his  mother,  before  the  sun  set. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE.         4& 

Just  at  nightfall,  he  returned  to  the  village  in  great 
haste,  and  informed  his  friends,  the  Indians,  that 
he  had  received  news  that  would  compel  him  to  go 
"West"  at  once.  He  had  purchased  a  light 
,wagon  at  his  first  visit  to  the  "  trading  post,"  and 
obtaining  a  horse  from  the  Indians  in  exchange  for 
his  oxen,  he  and  Charlie  left  the  same  evening 
after  his  hasty  return. 

The  setting  sun  had  left  only  the  gray  twilight 
to  mark  its  last  ray,  and  the  moon  like  a  ball  of 
fire  appeared  in  the  eastern  sky,  when  they  started 
on  their  all  night  journey.  The  air  was  mild,  for 
although  December  had  come,  Winter  seemed  loth 
to  put  in  an  appearance  ;  and  the  moon  glistening 
through  the  groves  of  timber,  reflected  a  landscape 
impossible  to  represent  with  pen  or  pencil.  Leaves- 
tinted  with  shades  that  art  cannot  produce,  and 
varnished  with  dew,  glistened  on  every  side,  and 
seemed  to  the  child's  imagination  to  be  a  scene  in 
fairy  land. 

The  boy  had  been  very  much  disappointed  at 
not  hearing  from  "Mama,"  but  he  made  no  oppo- 
sition to  going  with  Weston,  and  as  the  horse  flew 


44:        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

over  the  lonely  road,  lie  evinced  considerable  inter- 
est in  the  constellations,  which  the  man  took  pains 
to  point  out  to  him.  In  a  short  time  the  child  fell 
asleep;  and  cradled  in  his  guardian's  arms,  passed 
the  night  on  the  road. 

While  Arthur  "Weston  was  at  the  u  trading 
post,"  disposing  of  his  farm  produce,  he  chanced 
upon  an  old  paper  in  which  he  read  the  offer  of 
the  large  reward  for  the  "  missing  Charlie."  He 
knew,  he  had  only  to  deliver  up  the  boy  and  claim 
the  reward ;  but  then  the  officers  of  the  law  might 
want  him  also ;  and  he  did  not  like  to  ,part  with 
the  boy ;  he  had  grown  fond  of  him,  and  he  did 
not  wish  to  restore  him  to  the  mother,  whom  he 
fancied  had  wronged  him.  He  had  grown  tired  of 
farming ;  with  the  promised  reward,  he  might  go 
to  some  western  city  and  begin  life  anew.  The 
result  of  his  reasoning  was,  the  letter  which  awoke 
hope  in  the  heart  of  Mary  Burton,  only  to  end  in 
the  bitterest  disappointment. 

When  he  had  found  his  cabin  burned,  the  loss 
of  it  did  not  distress  him  much,  for  he  had  deter- 
mined to  claim  the  reward;  and  "if  he  could  not 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         4:5 

sell  his    '  tract, '  lie  would  give  it  to  his  Indian 
friends." 

When  he  arrived  at  the  "trading  post"  to  look 
for  an  answer  to  his  letter,  he  gave  his  horse  to 
the  stable-boy,  at  the  only  tavern  the  place 
afforded,  and  was  proceeding  towards  the  post 
office,  when  the  sound  of  a  name  uttered  by  a 
familiar  voice  attracted  his  attention.  Two  men 
were  seated  under  a  shed  that  he  was  passing,  con- 
versing in  low  tones,  and  their  subject  was  the 
" missing  Charlie."  It  was  this  name  which  had 
arrested  his  attention,  and  the  familiar  voice  was 
that  of  an  old  schoolmate,  that  had  once  been  his 
warm  friend ;  but  now  a  wide  chasm  yawned  be- 
tween them — Weston  was  a  fugitive  from  justice 
— his  schoolmate,  a  well-known  detective  from 
the  "  States."  Weston forgot  that  frontier  life  had 
changed  his  looks  so  much  that  his  own  mother 
would  not  have  known  him;  or  that  the  half  Indian 
suit  he  wore  might  have  formed  a  sufficient  dis- 
guise. Here  was  danger  for  him,  he  thought,  and 
hurrying  back  to  the  stable,  he  paid  the  boy  for  his 
horse's  dinner,  and  rode  away  at  a  rapid  gait, 


46        THE  CAKEEK  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHAELIE. 

never  pausing  to  look  behind,  nor  checking  the 
speed  of  his  horse  until  he  reached  the  Indian  vil- 
lage, where  we  have  seen  he  only  tarried  long 
enough  to  procure  a  fresh  horse,  and  equip  Char- 
lie and  himself  for  their  night  ride,  before  he 
started  again  in  his  flight. 

Their  travels  led  them  over  mountains  covered 
with  tall  trees,  through  forests  filled  with  all  kinds 
of  game,  and  along  the  banks  of  streams  of  pure, 
clear  water,  from  which,  with  hook  and  line,  they 
often  obtained  their  supper  or  breakfast. 

We  are  apt  to  find  our  minds  well  occupied 
when  visiting  new  scenes,  and  traveling  over  new 
and  wild  country;  so  Charlie  soon  became  inter- 
ested in  the  journey,  and  ceased  to  wonder  when 
they  would  start  for  the  "  East." 

They  continued  this  mode  of  life  for  two  weeks, 
sometimes  finding  shelter  in  a  deserted  hunter's 
cabin,  tarrying  one  night  with  a  wandering  band 
of  Gypsies,  and  resting  at  last  at  an  Indian  village, 
where  he  procured  a  "guide"  to  show  him  the 
most  direct  route  to  some  frontier  settlement. 

The  only  object  of  this  wild  flight  was  to  baffle 


THE  CAREER 'OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE.         <±  | 

all  search  that  might  be  made  for  him — a  search 
that  never  was  made — so  truly,  "The  wicked  flee 
when  no  man  pursueth." 

Their  guide  led  them  over  a  more  public  road, 
sometimes  passing  the  cabin  of  some  hardy  set- 
tler, occasionally  meeting  bands  of  roving  Indians, 
who  suffered  them  to  pass  unmolested,  for  their 
guide  was  well-known,  and  his  presence  protected 
them.  The  further  they  traveled,  the  more  savage 
they  found  the  tribes,  whose  villages  they  passed  ; 
but  Weston  made  the  Chief  of  each  a  present  of 
some  trinket,  which  won  his  friendship.  At  one 
time,  a  curiously  wrought  powder  flask,  answered 
this  purpose ;  at  another,  a  money  belt,  which  once 
contained  a  "thousand  in  gold;"  and  the  third 
and  last,  was  a  small  magnifying  glass,  which  he 
had  given  to  Charlie  to  amuse  himself  with,  and 
which  the  child  gave  up,  in  return  for  their  night's 
lodging  at  one  Indian  village. 

The  child  seemed  to  win  the  love  of  all  he  met ; 
and  their  guide  grew  fond  of  him,  and  taught  him 
to  use  the  bow  and  arrow,  with  which  he  soon 
became  quite  expert. 


48        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

They  now  approached  the  banks  of  a  river  which 
they  would  have  to  descend  to  continue  their  jour- 
ney, and  here  they  parted  from  their  Indian  guide, 
who  left  them  to  return  to  his  people,  carrying  with 
him  one  of  Charlie's  golden  curls. 


CHAPTEK    Y. 


"  Nearer  and  ever  nearer,  among  the  numberless  islands, 
Darted  a  light,  swift  boat,  that  sped  away  o'er  the  water, 
Urged  on  its  course  by  the  sinewy  arms  of  hunters  and  trappers." 

—LONGFELLOW'S  "  EVANGEMKK." 


HAELIE  and  Weston  did  not  have 
long  to  wait  at  the  "Indian  agen- 
cy," where  they  had  parted  with 
their  guide,  before  the  welcome 
sound  of  oars,  told  them  that  a 
boat  was  approaching.  They  had  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  disposing  of  the  horse  and  carriage ;  and 
this  gave  them  something  to  pay  their  traveling- 
expenses  with. 

Weston  had  taught  the  child  to  call  him  "  uncle," 
and  by  this  name  we  shall  henceforth  know  him. 

It  was  necessary  that   Charlie   and  his   uncle 
should  seek  a  home  for  the  winter  without  delay : 


50        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

and  among  the  u  trappers"  gathered  at  the  agency, 
they  found  one  who  was  quite  willing  to  pilot  them 
to  a  selected  spot  long  known  to  him. 

A  store  of  provisions,  ammunition,  guns,  traps, 
etc.,  was  packed  in  the  canoe — for  a  hunter  and 
trapper  always  prepares  for  a  six  months'  stay — and 
our  three  travelers  embarked  on  their  journey.  It 
was  nearly  noon  when  they  started  from  the 
agency ;  and  the  river  glistened  in  the  sunlight  like 
abroad  stream  of  silver;  and  as  the  canoe  glides 
smoothly  over  the  water,  there  seems  nothing  to 
mar  the  pleasure  of  their  voyage. 

Charlie  amused  himself  for  awhile  with  fishing, 
and  watching  the  changing  scenery  as  they  glided 
by  it;  but  when  there  was  nothing  but  the  river 
and  the  dull  drab  prairie  to  look  upon,  he  became 
weary,  and  curling  up  on  the  pile  of  blankets,  fell 
asleep. 

The  u  trapper,"  being  familiar  with  the  stream, 
related  anecdotes  and  adventures  of  his  experience 
in  former  years,  until  Weston  became  deeply  inter- 
ested, and  quite  a  friendship  seemed  to  be  estab- 
lished between  the  two  men.  Weston  grew  confi- 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         51 

dential,  and  told  the  trapper  of  the  burning  of  his 
cabin,  adding  that  his  sister,  the  boy's  mother,  had 
perished  in  the  flames ;  and  he  had  rescued  the 
child  from  the  murderous  Indians,  and  escaped 
with  him.  This  story  the  trapper  was  easily  made 
to  believe;  and  seeing  Charlie  dressed  in  a  fine 
made  buckskin  suit,  with  beaded  moccasins  and 
feathered  cap,  and  the  bow  and  arrows  which  he 
used  so  expertly,  all  helped  to  make  the  story 
seem  real.  uThey  came  from  Tall  Bull's  Band," 
thought  he ;  and  his  sympathy  was  gained,  which 
was  all  that  "Weston  wished. 

The  trapper  had  planned  for  a  winter's  hunt, 
and  he  had  invited  Charlie's  uncle  to  share  it  with 
him,  an  offer  which  he  readily  accepted. 

Our  travelers  did  not  find  smooth  sailing  all  of  the 
time,  and  when  the  roughness  of  the  journey  awoke 
Charlie,  he  turned  to  fishing  again  for  amusement, 
and  before  night,  hod  taken  some  very  fine  trout. 

That  night  they  camped  on  the  banks  of  the 
river,  and  feasted  on  jerked  venison,  corn-meal 
mush,  and  coffee,  with  hot  slapjacks,  as  the  trap- 
per called  his  bread,  baked  in  a  frying  pan  "Wild 


52        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

honey  abounds  in  these  forests,  and  our  trapper 
friend  knew  how  to  find  it,  so  Charlie  was  supplied 
with  plenty  of  honey  for  his  supper. 

When  their  evening  meal  was  finished,  our  little 
party  retired  early  to  rest ;  and  sunrise  found  them 
much  refreshed,  while  the  morning  air,  bracing 
and  chilly,  gave  them  good  appetites  for  their 
breakfast.  Breakfast  over,  the  camp  utensils 
stowed  away  in  the  canoe,  and  they  are  sailing 
down  river  again.  Three  days'  journey  brings 
their  canoe  ride  to  an  end,  for  they  have  reached 
the  hunting  ground — the  trapper's  kingdom. 

"Kough  country  this,  but  full  of  game,"  said 
the  trapper. 

"  Yes,  and  quite  secluded,"  replied  Weston. 

A  log  hut  with  a  large  fireplace,  and  mud 
chinked  walls  and  chimney,  was  to  be  their  shel- 
ter for  the  winter — their  home— and  it  was  very 
acceptable  to  the  wandering  refugee,  who  was  to 
share  its  hospitality. 

The  new  life  had  now  fairly  begun ;  and  for  a 
few  days  the  romance  of  the  situation  was  very 
pleasing  to  Charlie  and  his  uncle  ;  but  soon  grew 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  EOT,  CHARLIE.        53 

monotonous  and  wearisome  to  the  child,  who  often 
had  to  share  its  solitude  alone.  Weston  found 
both  employment  and  pleasure  in  the  excitement 
of  hunting  ;  and  this  business  had  for  years  taken 
the  place  of  home  and  friends  with  the  trapper. 

Charlie  soon  learned  to  make  traps  for  himself, 
which  he  set  not  far  from  the  cabin,  and  caught 
squirrels,  birds,  rabbits,  and  other  small  game. 
This  amusement,  and  his  bow  and  arrows,  gave 
him  much  pleasure,  and  served  to  while  away  the 
many  hours  in  which  he  was  left  all  alone. 

The  rapidly  changing  scenes  in  his  forced  jour- 
ney had  dulled  the  memory  of  his  early  home ; 
and  of  his  father's  death,  and  the  story  he  had 
heard  then,  lingered  in  his  mind  only  as  a  dream. 

We  shudder  at  the  very  thought  of  being  left 
alone  in  a  hut,  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  any 
settlement,  but  Charlie  seems  to  feel  no  fear,  and 
spends  part  of  his  time  under  "the  grand  old  live 
maple,"  where  the  trapper  has  built  a  rustic  seat, 
making  traps  with  a  jack-knife  which  his  uncle 
bought  for  him  at  the  agency.  As  he  whittles 
away  at  his  "  figure-four  "  traps,  for  pigeons,  par- 


54        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

tridges,  quails,  or  other  unlucky  intruder  that 
trusts  his  bait,  he  forgets  the  loneliness  of  his  sur- 
roundings, and  breaks  forth  in  a  happy  song ;  and 
the  little  birds  which  still  tarry  in  their  northern 
home,  alight  on  the  leafless  branches,  and  join  his 
concert. 

What  a  change  has  been  wrought  in  the  pale- 
faced  boy,  whom  we  have  seen  traveling  with  his 
father,  now  far  away  from  the  haunts  of  civiliza- 
tion ;  his  golden  curls  have  been  shorn,  and  his 
fringed  pants,  beaded  moccasins,  and  sun-browned 
face  make  him  appear  like  a  true  Indian.  From 
his  journey  and  mode  of  living,  he  has  gained 
robust  health  ;  and  he  has  grown  into  this  wild, 
lonely  life  so  gradually,  that  it  has  now  no  terrors 
for  him. 

The  old  log  hut  or  cabin  contains  one  room, 
which  serves  all  purposes ;  it  has  a  clay  floor  and 
board  windows,  which  slide  back  and  forth  to  ad- 
mit the  light  A  table  made  of  split  slabs,  and 
solid  in  every  respect,  stands  on  a  frame,  set  with 
posts  in  the  ground.  The  stools  and  benches  of 
rustic  design  and  rough  workmanship,  are  made 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.        55 

from  the  'timber  which  is  abundant  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Their  beds  are  heaps  of  branches  of  the 
fir  tree,  and  dried  leaves  covered  with  buffalo 
robes;  and  would  not  be  readily  exchanged  by 
either  of  the  occupants  of  the  cabin,  for  those  com- 
posed of  feathers  or  springs.  The  large  fireplace 
occupies  one  side  of  the  cabin,  the  stone  chimney 
being  built  on  the  outside.  The  stone  "  back-log  " 
and  the  big  "fore-stick,"  which  takes  all  the 
strength  of  the  sturdy  trapper  to  lift,  form  the 
base  of  the  big  fire,  which  warms  the  cabin,  and 
is  kept  burning  day  and  night. 

Sometimes  roving  bands  of  Indians  pass  near 
the  trapper's  "camp," — this  is  what  he  calls  his 
cabin  " — and  if  hungry,  he  gives  them  meat  and 
corn-bread,  and  smokes  with  them  the  "pipe  of 
peace,"  and  they  never  molest  him;  he  has 
learned  to  speak  their  language,  and  won  their 
friendship ;  and  he  dwells  as  securely  in  his  wilder- 
ness home  as  though  guarded  by  armed  soldiers. 

When  Charlie  is  tired  of  his  play  under  "  the 
old  live  maple,"  he  draws  his  little  stool  beside 
the  fire,  and  regales  himself  with  a  bunch  of 


56        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

"johnny  cake"  and  honey,  which  his  trapper 
friend  always  has  on  hand ;  and  as  this  feast 
usually  leaves  him  sleepy,  he  generally  curls  up 
in  the  buifalo  robes  and  sleeps  for  an  hour  or  two, 
which  causes  him  to  have  bright  eyes  and  open 
ears,  when  the  trapper  repeats  his  tales  of  wild  ad- 
venture to  his  companion,  Charlie's  uncle,  beside 
the  fire,  in  the  evening. 

The  boy  stands  in  the  doorway  or  at  the  open 
window  to  watch  his  traps,  and  at  one  time  he 
caught  a  pigeon,  which  he  thought  so  very  pretty, 
that  he  greatly  desired  to  keep  it  alive ;  so  he 
placed  it  in  a  basket,  and  tied  one  of  his  uncle's 
red  handkerchiefs  over  it,  until  the  return  of  the 
two  men  from  their  hunt,  and  that  night  the  trap- 
per built  for  him  a  little  cage,  in  which  he  kept  his 
bird  until  it  became  so  tame  that  it  would  eat  from 
his  hand,  and  follow  him  around  the  cabin  ;  and  in 
his  hours  of  loneliness,  when  his  little  heart  seemed 
full  of  homesick  longings,  he  would  place  the  bird 
upon  his  shoulder,  and  tell  it  about  "  Mama,  John, 
and  Grandma;"  and  the  pigeon  would  gently 
peck  at  his  cheek  with  its  bill,  and  "coo,"  as 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         57 

if  in  loving  sympathy  with  its  little  master's 
sorrows. 

About  half  a  mile  from  the  cabin,  the  Bed  Kiver- 
of-the-North  gleams  like  patches  of  silver  through 
the  trees ;  and  sometimes  the  child  wanders  down 
to  its  banks,  and  as  he  watches  the  flowing  stream, 
he  launches  little  rafts  upon  the  waters,  and  tells 
himself  that  "when  he  grows  big,  he  will  build  a 
canoe,  and  sail  down  the  stream  to  find  Mama." 

The  two  hunters  usually  returned  at  night,  well 
ladened  with  game,  and  highly  pleased  with  their 
success ;  and  in  the  course  of  an  hour  a  smoking 
supper  of  fried  birds  or  rabbits  and  corn-meal  bread 
attested  the  trapper's  skill  as  a  cook;  and  was 
eaten  by  the  two  hungry  men  with  a  great  relish. 

The  winter  thus  far  had  been  unusually  mild, 
but  the  second  week  of  their  sojourn  in  the  wilder- 
ness, there  came  a  light  fall  of  snow,  covering  the 
ground  with  a  pure  white  carpet,  about  three  inches 
deep ;  and  furnishing  our  hero  with  amusement  for 
several  days ;  for  out  of  this  material  he  built  a 
tiny  fort,  and  stormed  it  with  white  cannon  balls. 
He  also  built  a  snow  man,  and  finally  rolled  up  a 


58        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

very  large  ball  of  snow  under  the  ' '  live  maple, ' ' 
where  it  remained  all  winter,  and  served  as  a 
target  for  his  arrows,  when  other  amusement 
failed. 

To  the  trapper,  also,  the  snow  was  welcome,  for 
on  it  he  could  the  more  easily  track  deers. 

Heavy  frosts  followed  the  fall  of  snow,  and  all 
things  were  soon  in  the  grasp  of  uKing  Winter," 
while  fierce  storms  and  high  winds  often  rocked 
the  log  cabin  as  though  they  would  lift  it  from  its 
foundations.  And  there  came  days  so  intensely 
cold,  that  the  inmates  of  the  cabin  hovered  over 
the  blazing  fire,  and  sought  no  other  employment 
than  that  of  keeping  themselves  warm. 

On  the  days  when  the  storms  were  too  fierce  for 
them  to  go  out,  the  hunters  passed  their  time  in 
curing  the  skins  and  furs  they  had  already  ob- 
tained ;  and  which  the  trapper  expected  to  dispose 
of  in  the  spring  at  the  Indian  agency,  where  we 
first  met  him.  The  evenings  were  often  spent  in 
teaching  Charlie  geography  and  arithmetic,  the 
instruction  being  conveyed  orally  for  want  of  books, 
and  the  stone  hearth  and  a  piece  of  charcoal  being 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE.         59 

used  instead  of  a  blackboard  and  chalk,  for  pur- 
pose of  illustration. 

When  we  live  and  mingle  with  a  family  or  house- 
hold, the  steady  contact  begets  a  familiarity,  that 
often  causes  us  to  reveal  a  history  of  ourselves,  and 
our  past  lives  ;  and  sometimes  we  even  confide  to 
each  other  important  secrets:  thus  the  trapper, 
who  was  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  soon  con- 
fided to  his  companion  the  whole  history  of  his 
past  life.  Telling  him  without  reserve  of  the 
"farm"  near  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  where  he  had 
passed  his  boyhood  ;  and  where  he  had  wooed  the 
black-eyed  Lilian,  only  to  be  jilted  by  her  when 
the  "  city  clerk  "  offered  her  "  his  hand  and  heart." 
He  also  told  of  the  widowed  mother  who  still  lived 
at  the  farm,  and  to  whom  he  seldom  wrote  —  not 
because  he  did  not  love  her  —Oh  no!  but  then 
writing  never  came  easy  to  him.  He  sometimes 
met  people  at  the  agency  who  could  tell  him  about 
her,  and  he  always  sent  his'compliments  by  them. 
His  mother,  he  had  been  told,  obtained  a  comfort- 
able living  by  renting  the  farm,  and  laid  by  a  snug 
little  sum  each  year.  In  fact,  it  was  hers  to  all  in- 


60       THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOT,  CHARLIE. 

tents  and  purposes;  for  he  should  never  go  back 
to  claim  it,  until  he  got  too  old  to  work. 

The  farm,  which  comprised  a  quarter  section, 
and  had  a  snug  little  frame  house  on  it,  which  had 
been  built  expressly  for  the  fair  Lilian,  was  his 
property.  He  had  left  it  in  his  mother's  care  ; 
and  had  not  seen  it,  nor  his  mother,  in  thirteen 
long  years. 

This  was  the  trapper's  story ;  and  it  never  oc- 
curred to  him  to  remember  that  his  listening  com- 
panion never  spoke  of  his  early  life,  nor  had  told 
him  anything  except  the  story  of  the  burnt  cabin, 
which  he  had  accepted  as  the  truth. 

Seven  years  had  passed  since  the  trapper  had 
heard  from  home,  and  Weston  knew  that  within 
those  years  great  changes  had  occurred  in  that 
section.  A  railroad  had  already  been  built  which 
reached  Des  Moines,  and  another  was  talked  of, 
which  would  pass  near  it. 

"Weston  had  never  thought  of  restoring  Charlie 
to  his  mother,  except  when  the  promise  of  the 
large  reward  had  seemed  to  present  means  of  mak- 
ing a  start  in  life  once  more.  We  have  seen  that 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         61 

the  fear  of  detection  had  prevented  him  from  ob- 
taining the  reward,  and  led  him  to  the  retired  spot 
where  he  now  was.  The  trapper's  story  had 
pointed  out  a  plan  by  which  he  might  enrich  him- 
self and  Charlie,  and  still  retain  the  boy  in  his 
possession.  He  had  noticed  the  growing  fondness 
of  the  trapper  for  the  child  ;  and  when  he  thought 
the  proper  time  had  arrived  to  work  out  the  plot 
he  had  formed,  he  said  to  the  trapper  one  day,  "  I 
mean  to  make  a  farmer  of  Charlie,  and  as  I  would 
like  to  locate  in  Iowa,  I  will  buy  your  farm,  if  you 
will  sell  it,  and  give  it  to  Charlie  when  he  becomes 
of  age." 

"  But !  I  want  my  mother  to  enjoy  it  as  long  as 
she  lives,"  said  the  trapper. 

"  Oh  well,  we  will  not  claim  it  in  her  lifetime. 
Charlie  is  only  seven  now ;  and  when  he  is  old 
enough  to  work  on  a  farm  I  will  hire  it  of  your 
mother.  You  can  give  me  a  deed  of  it,  to  take 
effect  at  her  death,  and  that  is  all  I  will  ask,  and 
the  old  lady  can  live  with  us  if  she  pleases." 

"  Well,  if  you  want  it  for  the  boy,  I'd  as  soon 
he  had  it  as  anybody,  after  mother.  I  shall  never 


62        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

live  there  again  —  my  home  is  here.  I  love  that 
boy  as  though  he  was  my  own,  and  when  I  go 
where  they  do  such  things,  I  will  have  the  writ- 
ings drawn  up  to  place  it  in  his  possession  after 
mother's  death." 

At  the  time  when  Weston  was  plotting  to  obtain 
possession  of  the  trapper's  farm,  the  city  author- 
ities were  trying  to  buy  the  land  of  his  mother  for 
building  lots.  The  owner  could  not  be  found  ;  he 
had  been  advertised  for,  but  he  came  not,  and  his 
mother  was  urged  to  believe  him  dead,  and  to  sell 
the  farm  for  a  sum  that  would  make  her  very 
wealthy,  but  she  steadily  refused.  "Her  son 
would  return  some  day,  and  the  property  was  not 
hers."  So  the  farm  remained  undisturbed  in  the 
suburbs  of  a  large  and  nourishing  city. 

Many  hunting  expeditions  had  been  carried  out 
since  the  trio  came  to  the  cabin,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  mink,  otter,  sable,  and  martin  skins  had 
been  obtained  and  cured,  besides  the  hides  of 
larger  animals. 

Charlie  had  caught  foxes  enough  to  obtain  a  suit 
of  clothes  from  their  skins  ;  these  the  trapper  had 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         63 

helped  him  cure,  and  with  the  ready  skill  which 
comes  from  having  to  depend  entirely  on  our- 
selves, had  cut  and  made  them  into  a  warm  and 
comfortable  suit. 

When  the  extreme  cold  confined  the  boy  nearly 
all  of  the  time  to  the  house,  the  days  were  very 
long  and  wearisome.  But  his  friend,  the  trapper, 
kept  him  supplied  with  some  new  curiosity  in  the 
shape  of  home-made  toys.  Wooden  chairs,  puz- 
zles, and  a  miniature  menagerie,  following  each 
other  as  fast  as  the  child  became  tired  of  them  ; 
these  were  the  work  of  the  jack-knife,  and  were 
made  while  Weston  was  pacing  the  floor  with  his 
hands  in  his  pockets,  and  wishing  that  spring 
would  come.  The  man  was  becoming  tired  of 
his  secluded  life,  and  was  laying  plans  to  get 
away  from  it. 

One  morning  the  two  men,  accompanied  by  the 
dog,  and  armed  with  their  trusty  rifles,  started  out 
for  a  day's  hunt.  The  air  was  cool  and  bracing, 
and  they  wended  their  way  into  the  depths  of  the 
forest,  breaking  a  path  through  the  snow,  the  trap- 
per leading  the  way  with  his  usual  sturdy  stride. 


64:        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

They  had  wandered  nearly  four  miles  from  the 
cabin  witholit  seeing  any  tracks,  or  starting  any 
game,  when  suddenly  the  dog  gave  a  snuff  at  the 
air,  and  a  short  quick  bark,  and  the  next  moment 
they  came  in  sight  of  a  panther,  who  was  crunch- 
ing the  bones  of  a  deer  beside  a  fallen  tree. 

The  trapper  immediately  took  aim  at  the  beast 
with  his  rifle,  and  Weston' s  gun  was  leveled  ready 
to  fire  also.  Bang  went  the  trapper's  gun,  and 
with  a  cry  like  that  of  a  wounded  child,  the  pan- 
ther sprang  several  feet  in  the  air ;  but  the  shot 
had  not  taken  effect  in  any  vital  part,  and  as  the 
enraged  animal  reached  the  ground  he  made  a  sav- 
age spring  at  his  assailants.  At  this  moment 
Weston  fired,  but  his  shot  went  wide  of  its  mark, 
and  lodged  in  the  fallen  tree.  The  dog  had  sprung 
upon  the  panther,  but  the  animal  had  shaken  him 
off,  and  as  the  trapper  was  in  the  act  of  firing  the 
second  time,  he  sprang  upon  his  left  shoulder  and 
hip,  knocking  the  gun  from  his  hands,  and  drag- 
ging him  down  to  the  snow.  Weston  had  re- 
loaded, but  he  dared  not  fire,  lest  he  should  shoot 
his  companion.  The  trapper  had  drawn  his  knife, 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         65 

and  was   cutting  his   enemy  vigorously,   but  he 
seemed  unable  to  reach  his  heart. 

"  Shoot,  he  will  kill  me,"  he  cried,  and  this 
time  Weston's  rifle  did  good  service,  for  the  bul- 
let passed  through  the  panther's "  heart,  and  the 
animal  fell  dead  at  their  feet.  The  trapper  was 
badly  wounded,  and  the  blood  flowed  freely  from 
the  deep  wounds  made  by  the  panther's  sharp 
claws  and  teeth.  Four  miles  was  a  long  distance 
for  a  wounded  man  to  travel ;  but  there  was  no 
shelter  any  nearer,  and  after  his  companion  had 
bound  up  his  wounds  with  handkerchiefs,  the  trap- 
per, leaning  upon  Weston's  arm,  made  all  haste  to 
reach  the  cabin;  but  after  two  miles  had  been 
passed  over,  he  grew  too  weak  to  walk,  and  Weston  * 
was  obliged  to  throw  aside  the  guns,  and  carry 
him  part  of  the  time  upon  his  back.  The  weary 
miles  were  passed  at  last,  and  the  trapper  reached 
the  cabin  in  a  fainting  condition.  Here  Weston 
gave  him  a  drink  of  liquor,  an<J  then  proceeded  to 
dress  his  wounds,  in  which  he  was  greatly  assisted 
by  Charlie. 

The  trapper's  wounds  proved  very  serious,  and 


66        THE  CAKEEE  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

the  fever,  which  his  long  journey  home  created, 
kept  him  confined  to  his  cabin  several  weeks,  so 
that  when  he  was  able  to  be  out  again,  spring  had 
come,  and  they  began  to  make  preparations  for 
visiting  the  agency.  They  built  a  large  canoe,  for 
they  had  a  double  lot  of  skins  to  dispose  of,  and 
when  •  all  their  arrangements  were  made,  Charlie 
and  the  two  men  went  up  the  river  with  their  load 
of  skins  and  furs;  and  the  deed  was  executed, 
which  gave  the  farm  to  Charlie,  after  the  death  oi 
the  trapper's  mother.  The  instrument  was  duty 
signed  and  recorded  and  given  to  Weston,  who 
was  named  as  the  guardian  of  the  boy.  The  trap- 
per then  took  leave  of  Charlie  and  his  uncle  ;  bid- 
ding the  child  good-bye  with  a  fond  embrace  and 
rather  moist  eyes ;  for  they  had  engaged  passage 
in  a  boat  bound  for  a  station  on  the  river,  from 
which  by  stage  they  could  reacii  the  line  of  railway 
travel. 

"Weston  had  told  the  trapper  that  he  wished  tc 
go  where  he  could  send  Charlie  to  school,  and  that 
he  would  go  to  Des  Moines  and  u  look  up  the  old 
lady,"  and  send  him  word  how  she  was.  This 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         67 

plan  was  very  pleasing  to  the  trapper  and  he  did 
all  he  could  to  help  the  travelers  on  their  journey. 
Charlie  was  loth  to  part  with  his  pigeon,  and  sorry 
to  leave  his  friend  ;  but  the  thought  of  going  to 
school  soon  blunted  his  grief. 

Weston  had  intended  to  take  the  most  direct 
route  to  Des  Moines,  but  at  the  first  town  at  which 
he  stopped,  a  newspaper  which  he  bought  and 
consulted  for  news  from  the  "  East,"  informed  him 
that  a  child  supposed  to  be  the  "  Missing  Charlie  " 
had  been  seen  at  the  Eed  Eiver  settlement ;  this 
news  alarmed  him,  for  he  had  now  a  double  reason 
for  wishing  to  retain  the  boy.  If  the  child  was 
found  in  his  possession,  he  might  be  charged  with 
his  abduction ;  and  he  might  find  it  difficult  to 
make  any  one  believe  his  story  of  how  the  child 
came  into  his  care.  Then  if  the  child  became  heir 
to  the  farm  in  Iowa,  the  law  might  see  fit  to  ap- 
point a  new  guardian,  or  at  the  least  inquire  too 
closely  into  his  past  life ;  he  was  afraid  of  the  law 
anyway,  and  so  concluded  to  wait  until  the  search 
for  Charlie  was  entirely  over  before  he  ventured  to 
look  up  the  ' '  farm. ' ' 


68        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

A  party  of  emigrants  bound  for  Utah  passed 
through  the  town ;  and  Weston  soon  found  means 
to  make  himself  and  Charlie  members  of  the  party. 
His  pitiful  story  of  his  burnt  cabin,  and  his  sister's 
death  in  its  flames,  served  him  as  well  here  as  with 
the  trapper,  and  a  kind-hearted  woman  took  the 
child  under  her  immediate  care.  The  emigrants 
were  Germans,  speaking  but  very  broken  English, 
and  Weston  had  no  fear  of  their  learning  anything 
from  the  child  that  would  endanger  his  safety, 
while  he  could  converse  with  them  quite  readily, 
having  been  proficient  in  their  language  in  his 
younger  days. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


"  Far  in  the  West  there  lies  a  desert  land,  where  the  mountains 
Lift,  through  perpetual  snows,  their  lofty  and  luminous  sum- 
mits, 
Down  from  their  jagged,  deep  ravines,  where  the  gorge,  like  a 

gateway, 

Opens  a  passage  rude  to  the  wheels  of  the  emigrant's  wagon, 
Westward  the  Oregon  flows,  and  the  Walleway  and  Owyhee." 

LONGFELLOW'S  "  EVANOELINB.' 


HARLIE  was  very  much  disappoint- 
ed at  not  being  permitted  to  attend 
school;  but  he  made  no  objection 
to  going  with  the  emigrant  train ; 
and  it  would  not  have  made  any 
difference  if  he  had.  A  place  was  assigned  him 
in  one  of  the  white-topped  wagons,  drawn  by  a 
yoke  of  oxen,  and  "Weston  found  a  place  near  him 
by  driving  the  oxen. 

Slow  and  tedious  as  this  mode  of  traveling 
seems,  there  is  a  wild  charm  attending  it  that 
drives  away  the  monotony;  and  the  changing 


70        THE  CAKEEK  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

scenery  is  to  the  lover  of  nature  a  constant  source 
of  delight. 

Charlie  had  learned  to  cook  by  an  open  fire  dur- 
ing his  winter  in  the  trapper's  cabin;  and  was 
able  to  malse  himself  quite  useful  to  the  family 
with  whom  he  traveled.  This  family  consisted  of 
a  Mormon  with  his  wife  and  four  children,  one  a 
babe  of  eighteen  months ;  and  the  addition  of  a 
quiet,  obedient  boy,  who  was  willing  to  amuse  the 
baby,  or  bake  the  cakes  for  breakfast,  was  consid- 
ered rather  pleasant  than  otherwise. 

Spring  was  far  advanced,  and  the  emigrants  found 
water  and  food  plenty,  so  they  were  able  to  travel 
twenty  miles  each  day,  and  as  they  were  seldom 
delayed,  the  whole  train  of  twenty-five  wagons 
moved  steadily  on. 

Game  was  abundant ;  and  the  rifles  of  the  men 
kept  the  train  well  supplied  with  buffalo  and  ante- 
lope steaks,  and  roasts,  and  these  with  prairie 
chickens,  rabbits,  etc.,  made  their  bill  of  fare 
quite  varied. 

At  night  the  impudent  coyotes  would  come 
around  the  camp  and  bark,  and  carry  off  the 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         71 

bones,  or  anything  else  that  was  eatable,  which 
they  could  steal ;  and  sometimes  did  carry  away  a 
load  of  shot,  fired  into  them  by  the  night  watch- 
man;  but  they  were  hard  to  kill,  except  when 
shot  through  the  heart. 

The  emigrant  train  was  not  without  amusement 
for  those  who  could  not  find  enough  in  the  scenes 
through  which  they  were  passing.  Among  the 
one  hundred  and  sixty  souls  which  were  in  the 
party,  there  were  many  who  could  draw  sweet 
sounds  from  instruments  of  music ;  and  the  notes 
of  the  violin,  accordeon  and  flute,  mingled  with  the 
music  of  human  voices,  were  often  heard  in  the 
familiar  tunes  of  the  Fatherland  ;  while  around 
some  of  the  camp-fires  a  few  couples  were  seen  to 
join  in  the  moonlight  dance. 

The  route  along  the  Great  Platte  valley  was  a 
scene  of  great  beauty  and  interest  to  our  travelers. 
The  fertile  bottom  lands,  green  with  verdure,  and 
the  train  daily  receiving  accessions  from  other 
routes,  which  all  .converge  in  the  Platte  valley. 
The  scene  at  the  crossing  of  the  Platte  was  excit- 
ing in  the  extreme ;  the  screaming  of  women  and 


72        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

children  ;  the  loud  shouts,  arid  sometimes  curses  of 
the  men,  mingled  with  the  bustle  of  nearly  a  hun- 
dred white-topped  wagons,  all  in  sight  of  each 
other;  some  just  arriving,  others  just  trying  the 
ford,  and  others  disappearing  over  the  hills  be- 
yond. 

The  Mormon  children  with  whom  Charlie  trav- 
eled were  nearly  wild  with  fright,  but  our  hero 
was  naturally  of  a  very  calm  temperament,  and 
was  accustomed  to  accept  things  as  they  were,  and 
make  the  best  of  them  ;  and  then  he  had  forded 
rivers  before  in  a  wagon  ;  so  he  remained  quiet 
amid  all  the  bustle;  and  endeavored  to  console 
the  little  daughter  of  the  Mormon,  by  telling  her 
"  there  was  no  danger,  for  he  had  crossed  streams  ' 
before  ;"  not  realizing  at  that  moment  that  she  did 
not  understand  a  word  he  was  saying. 

When  the  oxen  attached  to  the  wagon  'which 
preceded  them,  reared  and  plunged  on  entering 
the  ford,  so  that  the  curtain  of  the  wagon  burst 
from  its  fastenings,  and  one  of  the  mounted  guides 
disappeared  for  a  moment,  all  but  his  head,  be- 
neath the  water,  the  mother  clasped  her  babe  to 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.        73 

her  bosom,  and  watched  with  pallid  face  until  the 
stream  was  crossed,  and  they  were  safe  on  the 
other  side. 

For  days  and  weeks  the  long  train  of  white- 
topped  wagons  kept  on  its  way  undisturbed ; 
passing  herds  of  buffalo  and  wild  horses,  which 
scampered  away  snorting  as  they  approached, 
sometimes  packs  of  hungry  wolves  followed  at  a 
distance,  seeking  the  remains  of  the  breakfasts 
which  they  had  left  behind.  Occasionally  the 
night  was  made  lurid  by  a  distant  prairie  fire  ; 
but  this  trouble  never  came  near  enough  to  molest 
them.  They  often  had  to  ford  streams ;  and  some- 
times on  the  banks  of  rivers  they  saw  Indian  wig- 
wams, and  squaws  planting  corn.  The  most 
curious  and  pleasing  sight  to  the  children  was  the 
little  viDage  of  prairie  dogs,  which  they  left  the 
wagons  to  examine  more  closely ;  sometimes  find- 
ing on  the  top  of  the  same  mound,  the  burrowing 
owl  perched  in  solemn  silence  on  one  side  of  the 
hole,  and  on  the.  other,  the  lively  little  prairie  dog, 
with  his  head  erect  and  fore-paws  hanging  down, 
ready  at  the  slightest  noise  to  dart  into  „  his  hole. 


74        THE  CAKEEK  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHAKLIE. 

Occasionally  the  sod  house  of  some  early  settler 
came  in  view ;  and  at  the  junction  of  the  Loup 
Fork  with  the  Platte  Kiver,  quite  a  town  was  passed 
through,  while  along  the  route  near  this  place, 
shanties  were  plenty  in  which  refreshments  were 
offered  for  sale  ;  and  at  these  places  some  of  the 
emigrants  were  wont  to  refresh  themselves  in  a 
manner  which  caused  night  hideous  afterwards. 

Farther  on,  many  a  snug  home  marked  the  dwel- 
ling-place of  some  successful  farmer,  and  these 
were  sheltered  by  groves  of  cottonwood  trees  and 
fenced  by  hedges  of  white  willow.  They  were 
passing  over  the  land  of  which  Longfellow  speaks, 
when  he  says, — 

Spreading  between  these  streams  are  the  wondrous,  beautiful 

prairies, 

Billowy  bays  of  grass  ever  rolling  in  shadow  and  sunshine; 
Bright  with  luxuriant  clusters  of  roses  and  purple  amorphas. 

After  crossing  the  South  Platte,  they  followed 
up  the  Lodge  Pole  Creek  to  the  Cheyenne  Pass. 
They  now  had  to  pass  over  the  vast  solitary  plains 
of  Colorado,  broken  occasionally  by  rugged  buttes 
and  bluffs,  and  famed  for  their  never-failing 


THE  CAREER  .OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         75 

breezes  even  in  the  hottest  days.  And  this  vast 
region  was  only  the  grazing  field  of  thousands  of 
buffalo,  or  herds  of  cattle.  As  they  came  near  the 
mountains,  the  scenery  became  more  grandly  beau- 
tiful. The  most  dangerous  part  of  the  journey  had 
commenced;  and  the  guides  of  the  party  had 
many  dismal  tales  to  tell  of  attacks  from  bands  of 
savages,  who  would  hide  in  the  mountain  caves, 
and  rush  out  to  murder  and  rob  the  unsuspecting 
emigrant.  Thunderstorms  were  very  frequent  du- 
ring their  passage  through  the  mountain  region; 
and  Charlie  never  forgot  the  beautiful  rainbow 
which  he  saw  in  this  vicinity. 

Passing  through  a  narrow  gorge  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains  the  train  entered  the  valley  of  the 
Green  River,  so  called  from  its  peculiar  color, 
which  is  supposed  to  be  owing  to  the  green  shale 
through  which  it  runs ;  and  which  is  supposed  to 
contain  arsenic  or  chloride  of  copper,  which,  adher- 
ing to  the  pebble  stones  on  the  bottom  of  the 
stream,  causes  the  water,  as  you  look  into  it,  to 
bear  the  same  color.  They  found  this  valley  rich 
with  fossils  and  petrifactions,  of  which  both 


76        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

Weston  and  Charlie  would  have  liked  to  have 
made  a  large  collection,  but  they  had  no  means  of 
carrying  them,  so  were  obliged  to  content  them- 
selves with  a  few  of  the  most  curious  moss  agates 
and  fossil  fish. 

A  small  town  built  of  adobe,  was  on  the  bottom 
land  directly  in  front  of  the  gorge ;  while  Castle 
Kock  and  the  Twin  Sisters  were  plainly  visible  as 
the  travelers  passed  on  their  journey. 

The  game  here  was  abundant,  and  some  of  the 
small  streams  afforded  them  plenty  of  fish.  Char- 
lie was  very  much  interested  in  the  manner  in 
which  the  old  hunters  decoyed  the  antelope  within 
range  of  their  rifles.  The  hunter  would  approach 
the  herd,  and  after  being  seen  by  them,  would 
squat  down  and  wave  a  handkerchief,  and  then  up 
and  down,  at  the  same  time  moving  towards  the 
unsuspecting  animals;  the  antelopes  curious  to 
know  what  was  jumping  up  and  down,  would  ap- 
proach quite  close,  and  were  easily  shot. 

The  whole  route  abounded  with  agates  and  other 
curious  specimens  ;  while  soda,  iron  arid  fresh  water 
springs  were  very  plenty  .and  near  each  other. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         7T 

From  some  of  the  springs  steam  was  issuing,  rising 
high  in  the  air ;  and  one  spring  was  so  hot  that  our 
party  cooked  a  prairie  chicken  in  it.  While  one 
man  was  so  incredulous  that  he  took  a  plunge  in 
the  pool  and  was  nearly  scalded  to  death ;  timely 
assistance  saved  his  life ;  and  he  doubted  no  longer. 

A  petrified  turtle  nine  feet  across  and  fifteen 
in  length,  was  here  reported  to  the  emigrants  as 
laying  by  the  side  of  one  of  the  streams  leading 
from  one  of  the  geyser  formations  in  the  Yellow- 
stone valley,  that  would  have  adorned  the  museum 
of  any  institute  in  the  country. 

One  of  the  hot  springs  was  within  twenty-five 
feet  of  a  cold  one,  and  neither  seemed  to  be 
affected  by  the  other. 

The  hills  and  mountains  in  the  vicinity  of  Bear 
River  were  said  to  be  infested  with  robbers ;  and 
the  women  passed  through  the  ravines  with  pale 
cheeks,  and  the  men  looked  carefully  to  the  prim- 
ing of  their  rifles,  but  the  robbers  did  not  appear. 
Bears,  elk,  catamounts,  lynx,  and  wolves  were 
plenty;  and  sage  hens,  quails,  and  ducks  were 
added  to  the  daily  bill  of  fare. 


78        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

After  three  months  of  steady  travel  our  party 
reached  the  abrupt  and  massive  scenes  of  Echo 
Canon,  beside  which  the  smooth  country  lying  on 
both  sides  the  Platte  Eiver  seemed  dull  and  tame. 
The  scenery  here  was  a  constant  succession  for 
miles,  of  natural  curiosity.  Winged  Rock,  which 
was  a  singular  perpendicular  column  jutting  out  in 
front  of  a  ledge,  with  outstretched  wings,  looking 
as  if  it  would  fly  but  for  its  weight.  Kettle  Eocks, 
which  were  immense  gray  boulders,  looking  very 
much  like  monstrous  kettles ;  and  Steamboat 
Eocks,  called  the  Great  Eastern,  and  the  Great 
Eepublic.  Then  there  was  Witches  Eocks,  Battle- 
ment Eocks,  Egyptian  Tombs,  Witches  Bottles, 
and  the  Pulpit  Eock,  with  many  others  too  numer- 
ous to  mention. 

On  the  south  a  portion  of  the  Weber  Eiver  was 
seen  with  its  green  banks  and  tree  verdure  forming 
a  relief  to  the  bare,  dry  plains  so  constantly  seen 
in  this  region.  The  mountain  streams  were  filled 
with  trout;  and  elk  and  deer  were  plenty. 

After  leaving  Weber  Canon  the  scene  changed, 
and  the  valley  with  its  little  villages,  grain  fields, 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE.         79 

and  meadows  brilliant  with  Indian  pinks  appeared. 
Then  the  Profile  Eocks  were  passed,  and  the  breezes 
from  the  great  inland  sea,  Salt  Lake,  were  plainly 
distinguished.  Then  came  the  Devil's  Slide,  two 
rows  of  perpendicular  rocks  about  eight  feet  apart, 
running  parallel  to  each  other,  and  up  a  steep 
mountain  side.  Charles  gazed  at  these  scenes  with 
awe,  and  wondered  if  the  Devil  really  did  slide 
down  that  rock. 

A  party  of  miners  had  overtaken  the  emigrant 
train  just  before  reaching  the  mountain  region ; 
and  kept  along  with  them  two  or  three  weeks  of 
their  journey.  Their  destination  was  California; 
and  as  they  were  all  Americans,  Charlie  sought 
their  society  at  every  opportunity,  and  soon  became 
quite  a  favorite  among  them.  And  as  Weston 
found  their  society  so  much  more  to  his  taste,  than 
he  did  that  of  the  Mormons,  he  was  about  devising 
some  means  of  joining  their  party,  when  sick- 
ness overtook  him  and  put  an  end  to  all  of  his 
pians.  The  mountain  fever  prostrated  him,  days 
came  and  went,  but  he  grew  steadily  worse ;  and 
although  everything  was  done  for  him  that  circurn- 


80        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

stances  permitted,  death  claimed  him  at  last ;  com- 
ing not  to  him  as  it  came  to  Maurice  Burton, 
slowly  and  surely,  giving. him  plenty  of  chance  for 
repentance  and  sorrow  for  past  mistakes,  and  lead- 
ing him  to  make  an  effort  to  restore  the  lost  boy 
to  his  mother;  but  claiming  him  with  his  mind 
clouded  with  delirium,  and  leading  him  through 
the  ' '  dark  valley ', ' '  seemingly  unconscious  that  he 
was  going.  He  died  and  they  buried  him  by  the 
roadside ;  a  simple  board  marking  his  grave,  and 
a  pile  of  stones  around  it.  And  thus  we  leave  one 
of  whom  we  might  say,  — 

Bright  was  the  promise  in  boyhood, 
Dashing  his  noonday  career; 
But  dark  was  the  hour  of  his  manhood 
Passing  'mid  danger  and  fear. 

While  dark  plans  of  vengeance  pursuing, 
The  hour  of  his  doom  came  at  last; 
He  rests  in  the  grave  on  the  mountain, 
The  time  for  repentance  has  past. 


CHAPTEK   VII. 


"  My  memory  tells  of  an  early  friend 
Who  did  a  father's  care  extend, 
When  by  misfortune,  I  was  left 
Of  every  earthly  friend  bereft ; 
And  his  deeds  of  love,  in  my  memory  seem 
Like  fragrant  springtime  flowers  to  gleam.' 


HARLIE  was  very  much  grieved  at 
the  death  of  "Weston,  for  the  man 
had  always  treated  him  kindly;  and 
he  was  too  young  to  realize  that  he 
had  kept  him  from  his  mother ;  and 
now  that  he  had  no  one  near  him  on  whom  he  had 
any  claim,  he  felt  all  the  bitterness  of  his  lonely 
situation  keenly.  But  the  kind  Father  in  Heaven 
who  watches  over  the  friendless  and  helpless,  was 
raising  up  a  friend  for  him  in  his  hour  of  need. 

Among  the  party  of  miners,  was  a  tall  man  of 
commanding  presence,  who  seemed  by  common 
consent  to  be  the  leader  of  the  little  party.  Be- 


82        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

tween  this  man,  and  Charlie  there  seemed  to  exist 
mutual  liking,  and  after  Weston's  death,  he  took 
upon  himself  the  task  of  caring  for  the  child,  and 
no  one  made  any  objections. 

Among  the  few  papers  found  in  Weston's  effects 
was  the  deed  given  him  by  the  trapper ;  and  this 
the  man  took  care  of,  telling  Charlie  it  might  make 
him  rich  some  day.  From  the  child  he  learned 
that  his  father  had  carried  him  off  from  his  mother 
because  he  was  "  mad  about  a  divorce,"  that  his 
mother  was  living  in  Massachusetts,  but  he  did  not 
remember  where.  The  child  knew  nothing  of  the 
great  search  that  had  been  made  for  him  ;  and  his 
listener's  mental  comment  was,  "  Some  poor  fel- 
low who  had  no  peace  at  home,  had  started  for 
the  land  of  gold,  and  perished,  like  many  others, 
on  the  way."  To  the  child  he  said,  "Well,  my 
boy,  it  is  impossible  to  look  your  mother  up  now, 
so  we  will  go  to  California  and  get  rich,  and  then 
you  can  find  her,  for  money  will  do  anything." 

This  proposal  pleased  the  boy ;  and  as  they  were 
at  a  point  where  the  Mormon's  path  diverged  from 
theirs,  he  bade  adieu  to  the  family  with  whom  he 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.          83 

had  traveled  over  three  months,  and  departed  with 
the  gold  seekers. 

The  miners  were  better  prepared  than  the  gen 
eral  class  of  emigrants  for  travel ;  they  had  fine 
mules,  complete  outfits,  and  now  that  the  country 
was  quite  level,  they  made  long  trips  from  "  sun  to 
sun ; "  and  after  a  pleasant  journey  of  three  weeks 
were  nearing  their  destination. 

The  discovery  of  gold,  a  few  years  before,  had 
attracted  many  to  California,  and  every  nerve  had 
been  strained  to  reach  the  new  Eldorado.  Many 
of  the  first  emigrants,  in  their  haste  to  get  to  the 
"land  of  gold"  before  the  rush,  found  to  their  dis- 
may, that  they  had  overloaded  their  teams,  and 
driven  too  rapidly,  thus  wearing  out  their  stock ; 
and  they  were  compelled  to  throw  away  some  of 
their  stores,  which  were  afterwards  picked  up  by 
the  following  trains. 

After  passing  the  Great  American  Desert,  our 
travelers  were  glad  to  arrive  at  the  Humboldt 
Wells,  as  the  thirty  springs  were  called,  which  al- 
ways formed  the  great  watering  place  and  camping 
ground  in  the  days  of  emigrant  overland  travel. 


84:        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

Another  group  of  noted  springs  were  passed,  one 
of  which  was  called  Chicken  Soup  Spring,  for  the 
water  by  adding  salt,  pepper,  butter,  and  crackers, 
tasted  as  much  like  chicken  soup  as  that  which  is 
usually  served  at  hotels. 

The  waters  of  these  springs  were  said  to  be  a 
certain  cure  for  rheumatism  and  all  diseases  of  the 
blood ;  to  have  a  remarkable  effect  in  all  paralytic 
cases,  and  to  cure  consumption  when  not  too  far 
advanced 

The  Piute  Indians  catching  fish  with  hooks  made 
from  rabbits'  bones  and  greasewood,  were  a  great 
curiosity  to  Charlie,  and  he  wondered  very  much 
to  see  them  pull  out  two  or  three  fish  at  a  time. 
The  Puffing  or  Steamboat  Springs  also  attracted 
his  attention  ;  for  every  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes 
they  would  blow  up  water  and  steam  into  the  air, 
reminding  him  of  the  steamer  he  had  seen  leaving 
the  wharf  just  before  he  joined  the  emigrant  train. 

Our  hero,  who  was  now  in  his  eighth  year,  be- 
gan to  show  quite  a  talent  for  music,  and  from  his 
new  friend  who  played  the  violin,  he  learned  many 
familiar  airs  and  sang  them  in  a  sweet  voice  beside 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         85 

the  evening  camp-fire,  holding  his  audience  silent 
listeners  while  he  sung. 

Being  the  only  boy  among  so  many  men,  placed 
Charlie  in  a  position  to  be  made  quite  a  pet  of,  and 
his  gentle  disposition  made  him  a  great  favorite 
with  the  whole  party ;  and  as  he  remembered  his 
winter  home  on  the  banks  of  the  river  in  the  forest, 
and  many  of  the  stories  related  by  his  old  friend, 
the  trapper,  he  would  repeat  them  in  such  an  earn- 
est manner  that  would  always  win  the  attention  of 
the  entire  party.  He  always  listened  himself,  with 
rapt  attention,  when  the  men  talked  of  the  gold 
diggings,  and  soon  learned  the  meaning  of  the 
wild  excitement  which  led  men  to  leave  happy 
homes  and  dare  the  perils  of  a  long  journey  to  the 
distant  regions  of  which  they  knew  so  little. 

He  soon  became  as  anxious  as  the  older  mem- 
bers of  the  party  to  reach  that  land  of  which  some 
of  the  men  told  such  stories  of  fabulous  wealth, 
drawn  from  letters  which  had  been  received  from 
friends  who  had  gone  on  before,  and  he  shared 
their  joy  when  they  began  to  tell  that  the  golden 
land  was  very  near. 


86         THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

The  snow-capped  Sierras  formed  the  dividing 
line  between  our  eager  travelers  and  the  sought  for 
goal.  What  grand  scenes  here  met  their  view ; 
above  the  timber  line  rises  tall  mountains  covered 
with  perpetual  snow.  Cold  austere  monuments, 
pointing  their  spires  in  solemn  stillness  to  the 
skies— who  would  not  like  to  know  how  long,  how 
very  long,  they  had  stood  there  ?  Where  man  has 
never  trod,  these  pinnacles  stand  defiant ;  and  be- 
neath these  cold  towers,  at  the  base  of  the  snow 
belt,  blossom  beautiful  flowers,  watered  by  the 
melting  snow,  seeming  in  the  warm  sunlight  like 
layers  of  spring,  summer,  and  winter.  The  three 
seasons  seem  to  meet  the  eye  at  a  glance,  and  im- 
press every  one  with  admiration  and  awe. 

Donner  Lake,  with  its  blue  mirror-like  surface, 
the  little  gem  of  the  chain  of  lakes  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada  Mountains  was  passed  by  our  party,  who 
stopped  to  admire  its  beauty  and  listen  to  the  sad 
story  of  "  Starvation  Camp,"  where  in  the  winter 
of  1846-7,  a  company  of  eighty-two  persons,  going 
to  California,  were  overtaken  by  snow,  and  lost 
their  cattle,  and  were  reduced  to  terrible  straits. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         87 

Thirty-two  of  this  company  were  females,  and 
there  were  a  large  number  of  children.  Thirty-six 
were  said  to  have  perished,  mostly  men.  Relief 
was  sent  to  the  party,  but  all  could  not  be  saved  ; 
and  a  Mrs.  Donner  preferred  to  remain  and  perish 
witli  her  husband  rather  than  go  away  with  her 
children  and  leave  him  behind.  This  tragedy  gave 
the  lake  its  name. 

Our  travelers  turned  away  with  a  shudder,  and 
with  thankful  hearts  that  they  had  escaped  so  far 
all  the  dangers  of  overland  travel. 

This  lake  was  fed  by  many  streams,  and  was 
now  full  to  its  banks  with  very  clear  cold  water, 
which  afforded  plenty  of  speckled  trout  to  the 
hungry  travelers. 

The  heat  was  so  intense,  for  it  was  now  midsum- 
mer, that  they  were  obliged  to  seek  the  shade  of 
the  tall  pines,  and  rest  at  midday,  traveling  only 
in  the  cool  of  the  morning  and  late  in  the  afternoon. 

When  descending  the  mountain  side,  where  the 
palace  car  now  rushes  down  at  th«  speed  of  sixty 
miles  an  hour,  into  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento, 
our  travelers  were  obliged  to  proceed  with  great 


88    THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

caution ;  and  places  were  pointed  out  to  them  by 
their  guide  where  the  emigrant  wagons  had  to  be 
let  down  by  ropes,  the  men  taking  a  turn  or  two 
with  the  ropes  around  the  big  pines  to  prevent  too 
rapid  descent. 

They  also  saw  near  the  road  the  track  of  a  large 
landslide,  where  the  snow  melted  by  the  summer 
heat,  had  caused  a  portion  of  the  mountain  to 
slide  or  slip  down,  carrying  all  that  stood  before 
it.  Trees,  rocks,  earth,  and  animals  were  all  swept 
on  and  buried  in  the  ruins.  The  antlers  of  deer, 
and  bones  of  bears  and  other  animals  could  be 
plainly  seen  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  where  the 
immense  weight  had  stopped. 

"What  a  perilous  position  for  a  man  to  be  placed 
in !  Yet  men  have  been  caught  in  these  land- 
slides, which  occur  quite  often. 

This  landslide  had  blocked  the. path  down  the 
mountain  side,  causing  a  delay  of  ten  days  to  the 
first  party  who  attempted  to  pass  that  way.  Our 
miners  came  up  just  in  'time  to  be  of  service  in 
helping  to  clear  the  path,  and  were  detained  five 
days  in  consequence. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         89 

Among  tlie  noticeable  features  in  this  locality 
were  the  tall  trees,  and  the  stumps  of  trees  cut  off 
eighty  feet  above  the  ground.  This  fact  was  ex- 
plained by  their  guide.  A  great  depth  of  snow 
had  fallen  the  winter  before,  and  these  trees  had 
been  used  for  firewood  by  camping  parties,  who 
had  cut  them  off  at  the  surface  of  the  snow.  It 
was  said  that  the  snow  sometimes  drifted  to  the 
depth  of  one  hundred  feet ;  and  these  drifted 
masses,  melting  in  the  spring  and  summer,  supply 
the  streams  with  water  when  no  rain  falls. 

The  road  being  opened,  our  party  rushed  on  to 
their  destination,  until  they  reached  the  last  of  the 
steep  mountain  paths  that  they  would  have  to  de- 
scend ;  here  they  found  themselves  obliged  to  pass 
over  a  narrow,  dim,  rough,  Indian  trail,  surrounded 
by  precipitous  cliffs  and  craggy  rocks,  at  the  peril 
of  life  and  limb,  for  should  their  "  buroes"  (mules) 
misstep,  they  were  liable  to  fall  three  hundred  feet 
to  the  rocks  below. 

Their  guide  pointed  out  to  them  a  spot  where  a 
miner  had  lost  his  mule  and  all  his  effects  only  two 
weeks  before,  and  when  they  had  reached  a  safe 


90        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

camping  ground,  he  told  the  story,  which  was  as 
follows: — 

"  Jim  Sajlor  was  always  lucky  at  the  mines,  but 
of  a  rovin'  nater,  and  always  lookin'  for  somethin' 
better ;  he  had  be'n  havin'  good  luck  at  the  c  Ked 
Dog;'  but  hearin'  of  the  big  doin's  up  to  the 
;  Tin  Cup,'  he  fitted  out  a  pack  mule  with  minin' 
kit  and^  kitchen,  and  he  started  over  the  mount' in 
path  alone.  After  breakfastin'  near  this  spring 
here,  he  lashed  his  kitchen  on  one  mule's  back, 
and  ridin'  another,  started  for  his  day's  journey. 
The  trail  had  n't  be'n  passed  over  in  some  time, 
and  had  become  filled  up  by  rubbish,  and  badly 
washed  by  meltin'  snow.  You  observed  the 
mount'in  side  was  terrible  steep,  'round  where  the 
trail  went ;  and  them  jagged  rocks  and  the  dizzy 
highth  above  the  canon  was  enough  to  make  yer 
blood  run  cold.  At  the  steep  p'int  where  I  took 
the  boy  on  my  back,  the  pack  animal,  who  was  re- 
markable sure-footed  'most- ways,  lost  his  hold  and 
with  a  loud  startlin'  bray,  and  struglin'  clutch  at 
the  air,  he  went  down,  down,  the — the  bottom  of 
the  canon,  where  he  lays  now,  if  the  wolves  and 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         91 

buzzards  haint  car'ed  him  off.  The  poor  buroe 
and  all  that  was  attached  to  him  was  lost.  To 
attempt  to  save  anything  wasn't  to  be  thought  on, 
and  the  whole  kit,  which  cost  three  hund'ed  dol- 
lars was  gone  past  cure.  There  was  nothin'  for  the 
unlucky  '  gold  seeker '  to  do,  but  to  go  on  until  he 
reached  a  place  where  he  could  turn  'round,  and 
then  return  to  the  nearest  town,  buy  a  new  kit,  and 
start  ag'in;  this  he  did,  and  at  last  reached  the 
4 Tin  Cup'  in  safety." 

"I  tell  you  what,  boys,"  said  the  guide,  lighting 
his  pipe,  when  he  had  finished  his  story,  "this 
minin'  aint  all  gold,  anyway." 

Charlie  and  his  friends  at  last  reached  a  place 
on  the  Stanislaus  River,  which  was  called  Pine 
Log,  because  a  pine  log  had  fallen  over  a  narrow 
portion  of  the  river  in  such  a  manner  that  it 
formed  a  rustic  bridge,  which  the  miners  used. 
Here  they  decided  to  locate,  and  here  Charlie  took 
his  first  lesson  in  placer  mining. 

Our  hero  soon  became  very  handy  in  the  various 
departments  of  surface  diggings;  and  occasionally 
had  the  pleasure  of  earning  for  himself  the  appar- 


92        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

ently  large  sum  of  a  dollar  and  a  half  in  a  day ;  we 
say  apparently  large,  for  when  we  take  into  consid- 
eration that  it  cost  from  seventy-five  cents  to  a 
dollar  to  feed  a  boy  in  this  region,  the  remainder  of 
the  dollar,  fifty,  would  not  go  very  far  towards  pay- 
ing his  board  on  the  days  in  which  their  toil 
brought  them  comparatively  nothing.  The  boy 
however  was  so  useful  to  the  whole  mining  party, 
that  he  was  welcome  to  share  their  meals  at  any 
time ;  and  his  guardian  always  laid  aside  his  little 
earnings  for  a  time  when  he  might  need  them 
more. 

The  habits  of  frontiermen  and  miners  are  very 
rough,  but  there  is  no  class  more  kind  or  charita- 
ble to  a  person  in  distress.  They  make  no  loud 
boasts,  but  each  bestows  his  mite  freely  and  with- 
out hope  of  return.  Rough  songs,  rude  jests,  and 
the  practical  joke  form  the  sum  of  the  miners 
amusements.  An  insult  is  quickly  resented,  and 
the  offender  quickly  punished. 

Living  away  from  the  restraints  of  society,  and 
the  softer  influence  of  women,  they  soon  learn  to 
act  from  impulse  instead  of  reason,  and  as  a  rule 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         93 

their  temper  becomes  quick  and  ungovernable,  and 
they  resist  any  encroachments  upon  their  supposed 
rights  by  the  quickly  drawn  bowie-knife  or  revol- 
ver ;  and  if  ufkler  the  influence  of  whisky,  the  per- 
son who  chances  to  incur  their  displeasure  some- 
times meets  death  at  their  hands. 

All  speedily  lose  their  polish,  but  all  do  not  be- 
come depraved,  and  in  some  the  pure  gem  is  still 
seen,  shining  brightly  through  the  rough  exterior. 
They  all  soon  become  infatuated  with  their  busi- 
ness, and  whether  successful  or  not,  they  plod  on, 
led  by  the  "Will  o'  the  Wisp"  hope  which  still 
points  to  the  bright  future  in  the  distance,  when 
they  shall  behold  the  golden  harvest  or  silver  pro- 
duct of  their  severe  toil. 

Ah!  how  intoxicating  the  dream.  They  know 
that  fortunes  have  been  accumulated  in  a  week,  a 
month,  or  a  year  ;  and  they  labor  on  still  hoping, 
until  from  exposure  they  break  down  and  die,  meet 
with  some  dreadful  accident,  or  from  sheer  want, 
are  obliged  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  When  a 
miner  wins  a  fortune,  no  one  is  the  loser  by  it,  but 
all  around  him  feel  the  influence  of  his  gains. 


$4        THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

For  several  weeks  our  party  of  miners  were  able 
to  keep  together;  for  the  camp  at  which  they 
located  was  rich  in  surface  diggings  for  many  miles 
around,  so  they  could  dig  and  wash-out  their  earn- 
ings in  the  river  and  all  return  to  one  camp  at 
night ;  but  the  time  came  when  they  were  obliged 
to  strap  their  blankets,  provisions,  pick,  pan,  and 
shovel  upon  a  pack  mule  and  trudge  over  the 
mountains  to  search  for  new  spots  of  treasure. 

When  a  place  was  reached  where  the  brick  color 
of  the  earth  seemed  to  promise  a  reward  for  toil, 
the  mule  was  unpacked  and  turned  out  to  graze ; 
and  the  miner  went  to  work  with  pick  and  shovel 
to  fill  his  pan  with  the  earth,  that  he  might  sepa- 
rate it  from  the  mineral  by  washing  it  in  the 
mountain  stream  ;  and  when  the  days'  work  was 
done,  and  the  evening  meal  eaten,  he  would  roll 
himself  up  in  his  blankets,  with  a  stone  or  a  log  for 
a  pillow,  and  no  shelter  but  the  starry  sky,  find 
sleep  and  rest,  except  when  disturbed  by  the  wild 
beasts  which  infest  this  region. 

Charlie  usually  accompanied  his  guardian  on 
these  prospecting  tours ;  and  they  were  generally 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         95 

successful  in  both  finding  mineral  wealth  and  free- 
dom from  attacks  by  wild  beasts.  When  making 
their  bed  for  the  night,  under  the  side  of  a  shelv- 
ing rock,  his  friend  would  sometimes  say,  "Never 
mind,  Charlie,  if  the  bed  is  hard ;  if  we  can  only 
wash  out  plenty  of  "  Cheipsas,"  (the  term  for  large 
pieces)  in  this  region,  we  will  go  East  and  find 
your  mother." 

While  among  the  hills,  they  saw  plenty  of  deer ; 
and  one  day  an  accident  occurred,  which  impressed 
itself  upon  Charlie's  mind,  so  that  it  was  never 
forgotten. 

One  day  while  making  their  way  through  the 
scrubby  bushes  and  small  pines  they  came  upon 
two  buck  deer  engaged  in  an  earnest  fight ;  almost 
every  one  will  stop  to  witness  this  sight ;  and  our 
two  friends  watched  the  battle  with  considerable 
interest.  The  struggle  was  a  fierce  one,  for  both 
contestants  were  powerful,  and  each  received  many 
a  deep  wound  from  the  antlers  of  the  other.  For 
an  hour  and  a  half  the  bucks  plunged  at  and 
goaded  each  other  without  any  sign  of  yielding  or 
triumph  ;  they  were  about  equally  matched.  At 


96         THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

last  both  seemed  exhausted,  and  withdrew  a  short 
distance  from  each  other,  as  if  by  common  consent 
seeking  rest.  While  their  gaping  wounds  bled 
freely,  and  their  breath  came  in  quick  short  gasps, 
they  displayed  a  wonderful  instinctive  knowledge 
of  the  art  of  healing  ;  from  a  shrub  or  bush  which 
grew  near  them,  each  buck  was  seen  to  pluck  the 
leaves,  and  in  wads  of  six  or  eight,  thrust  them 
into  the  wounds  within  reach  of  their  mouths. 

Here  were  self-taught  doctors  ;  and  the  result  of 
their  healing  art  was,  that  rafter  the  space  of  an 
half  hour,  they  again  returned  to  the  charge,  and  the 
fight  was  continued  until  one  of  the  deer  broke  his 
antlers,  when  he  turned  and  fled.  The  other  started 
in  swift  pursuit,  and  soon  both  were  out  of  sight. 

The  man  and  boy  were  both  deeply  interested 
in  this  scene,  and  they  gathered  some  of  the  plant 
to  carry  with  them  when  they  returned  to  the  Pine 
Log  camp.  Here  they  found  the  Indians  used  the 
same  herb  on  fresh  cuts  and  bruises,  and  also  made 
infusions  of  it  for  their  fever  patients.  They  per- 
haps had  learned  its  virtues  in  the  same  way  that 
our  friends  had. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.         97 

The  party  of  forty  miners  who  had.  crossed  the 
plains  together,  soon  became  widely  scattered  ;  now 
and  then  some  of  them  would  meet  and  learn  from 
each  other  news  of  those  they  had  not  met.  Some 
had  made  a  ubig  strike"  and  gone  home  rich,  via 
the  Panama  railroad ;  others  in  prospecting  had 
struck  the  bottom  of  some  rocky  canon,  leaving 
their  bodies  a  prey  to  the  wolf  and  buzzard ;  others 
still,  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  the  means 
by  them,  had  grown  sick  of  the  life  of  risk  and 
toil,  and  returned  to  earn  a  sure  but  humble  living 
in  the  "States" — as  the  homes  they  came  from 
were  called  by  them. 

One  poor  fellow  had  met  a  sad  fate  at  the  hands 
of  the  vigilance  committee.  He  had  gone  to  a 
new  camp  where  it  was  said  the  diggings  were  very 
rich,  and  meeting  with  a  miner  at  the  store  where 
they  had  obtained  supplies,  he  had  made  a  partial 
bargain  to  join  him  at  his  claim.  He  was  to  go 
to  the  miner's  cabin  in  the  evening  and  complete 
the  bargain.  That  night  the  miner  was  murdered 
in  his  cabin,  and  his  bag  of  gold,  which  was  buried 
in  one  corner  of  the  clay  floor  was  carried  off.  One 


98         THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

of  the  vigilance  committee  had  seen  the  stranger 
near  the  cabin,  and  the  crime  was  laid  to  him.  In 
vain  he  denied  the  accusation ;  and  in  six  hours 
after  he  was  arrested,  he  had  been  launched  into 
eternity.  The  next  day  two  roughs  were  caught 
stealing  horses,  and  when  about  to  be  hung  for  this 
crime,  they  confessed  that  they  had  murdered  the 
miner,  for  whose  death  the  vigilants  had  hung  an 
innocent  man. 

Charlie  and  his  friend  had  left  the  vicinity  of 
the  Pine  Log  Camp,  and  were  living  a  few  miles 
from  Placerville,  where  Mr.  Gordon,  Charlie's 
friend  and  guardian,  kept  a  store.  He  had  placed 
the  boy  at  school  to  obtain  his  long-neglected  edu- 
cation ;  and  was  assisted  in  this,  by  little  sums 
which  the  successful  miners  sent  to  him  for  that 
purpose,  whenever  they  had  opportunity. 

Charlie  spent  three  years  at  school,  and  as  he 
improved  every  moment,  he  was  able  to  acquire 
more  useful  knowledge  in  that  time  than  many 
boys  obtain  in  twelve  where  school  is  no  luxury  to 
them. 

At  the  end  of  the  third  year  he  left  school  and 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.        99 

assisted  his  friend  in  his  store ;  for  Mr.  Gordon 
was  now  doing  a  large  business.  Improvements 
had  increased  rapidly ;  stages  made  daily  trips  to 
the  steamer  landing,  fifty  miles  away;  and  the 
overland  mail  route  and  steamship  line  made  com- 
munication with  the  East  comparatively  easy.  The 
population  was  continually  changing.  New  comers 
were  daily  arriving,  and  those  who  had  obtained 
fortunes,  or  were  discouraged  with  the  prospects 
and  had  friends,  were  returning  to  the  States. 

New  discoveries  were  reported  every  day,  and 
trade  grew  prosperous.  All  staple  articles  had  to 
be  brought  from  eastern  cities.  A  sack  of  flour 
could  be  sold  readily  for  a  dollar  per  pound,  and 
other  things  accordingly. 

Among  the  new  comers  were  those  who  were 
seeking  profitable  investments,  and  to  one  of  these 
Mr.  Gordon  sold  his  business  at  a  good  figure. 

Five  years  of  constant  success,  or  well-directed 
industry  had  made  William  Gordon  a  wealthy  man. 
In  the  East  he  had  many  friends,  and -among  them 
a  blue-eyed  girl  had  promised  to  wait  until  he 
could  earn  the  means  to  support  her  in  the  style 


100     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

of  liviDg  to  which   she  had  always  been  accus- 
tomed. 

This  had  been  the  hope  that  had  sustained  him 
amid  all  the  dangers  and  privations  of  overland 
travel  and  mining ;  and  now  that  which  he  came 
for  was  won,  the  same  idol  which  had  cheered  him 
in  his  toil,  now  lured  him  to  his  home. 

Charlie  was  again  to  be  left  without  a  protector. 
His  friend  obtained  for  him  what  he  thought  was  a 
good  situation,  for  he  found  a  man  who  promised 
to  give  him  a  hont,e,  with  a  chance  to  study,  and 
wages  at  a  fixed  sum  per  week,  in  return  for  labor 
performed.  Here  he  left  him  with  a  small  sum  of 
money,  and  plenty  of  good  advice,  and  departed 
to  take  the  steamer  to  return  to  his  eastern  home. 


CHAPTEK   VIII. 


The  cloud  may  be  dark,  but  there's  sunshine  beyond  it; 
The  night  may  be  o'er  us,  but  morning  is  near ; 
The  vale  may  be  deep,  but  there's  music  around  it, 
And  hope,  'mid  our  anguish,  bright  hope  is  still  here. 

Still  here,  though  the  wing  of  dark  sorrow  is  o'er  us, 
Tho'  bitterness  dregs  every  cup  that  we  drink ; 
With  a  smile  in  her  eye,  she  glides  ever  before  us 
To  yield  us  support,  when  we  falter  or  sink." 

—THE  FLOWEB  VASE. 


OUK  last  chapter  we  left  Charlie 
at  his  new  home.  He  was  now 
thirteen  years  of  age,  and  had 
reached  a  great  change  in  his  life. 
Hitherto  he  had  only  felt  the  rule  of 
love.  In  all  the  changing  scenes  of  the  past,  those 
by  whom  he  had  been  surrounded  had  always 
sought  to  make  him  happy,  and  to  soften  for  him 
the  rough  path  of  his  life.  Now  for  the  first  time, 
he  had  changed  a  guardian  for  a  master. 

With  John  Korton,  "a  mouth  to  be  fed  must 


102     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

earn  its  bread;  "  and  he  took  care  that  Charlie 
should  be  kept  well  employed  at  all  times;  while 
he  endeavored  to  impress  upon  thelad's  mind  what 
a  good  thing  it  was  to  have  a  home ;  and  how 
thankful  he  ought  to  be  to  have  somebody  to  take 
care  of  him  and  look  out  for  his  interests.  He 
never  believed  in  praising  anybody  who  was  under 
his  rule ;  it  was  apt  to  make  them  put  on  airs  and 
forget  their  place. 

If  Charlie  forgot  any  of  his 'prescribed  duties,  or 
failed  to  perform  any  of  the  tasks  set  him,  he  was 
told  that  it  was  strange  he  could  be  so  ungrateful 
after  all  that  had  been  done  for  him ;  the  all  was 
covered  in  Charlie's  mind  by  sufficient  of  the  plain- 
est kind  of  food.  The  chance  to  study  which  had 
been  bargained  for,  was  confined  to  rainy  days 
when  nothing  else  could  be  done,  and  the  daughter 
of  the  house  happened  to  be  in  the  mood  to  lend 
books,  or  give  him  help,  which  was  not  often ;  for 
this  young  lady  did  not  see  any  need  of  the  hired 
boy  being  treated  like  one  of  the  family;  and 
never  permitted  him  to  enter  the  parlor ;  that  place 
was  reserved  for  the  use  of  herself  and  her  visit- 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      103 

ors ;  and  her  books  were  all  too  nice  to  be  taken 
to  the  kitchen,  or  fingered  by  a  dirty,  careless  boy. 
And  so  the  boy  who  might  have  added  much  to  the 
pleasure  of  an  evening,  when  she  entertained  her 
friends  with  music  from  the  piano,  by  his  sweet 
voice,  was  early  taught  that  his  place  was  in  the 
kitchen  when  not  at  work. 

Mrs.  Norton  was  a  kind-hearted  woman,  and  if 
she  had  been  left  to  herself,  would  have  tried  to 
make  the  boy's  life  pleasant;  but  her  daughter 
and  husband  ruled  the  house,  and  she  was  accus- 
tomed to  always  defer  to  their  wishes. 

John  Norton  was  in  very  good  circumstances, 
and  had  never  denied  his  only  daughter  anything 
she  asked  for.  He  was  proud  of  her  accomplish- 
ments, and  liked  to  speak  of  "my  daughter's  mu- 
sic lessons,"  and  tell  of  the  very  large  sum  it  cost 
for  the  years  she  went  to  the  academy ;  but  his 
early  training  had  made  him  very  penurious,  and 
he  never  liked  to  incur  any  expense  unless  he  could 
make  a  great  show,  or  was  certain  of  sure  gains  to 
follow. 

This  man  was  a  farmer  in  a  small  way,  and  kept 


104:     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

the  village  post-office,  together  with  a  small  store, 
which  contained  a  stock  of  miner's  supplies.  He 
had  been  reared  in  the  back  woods  of  Maine,  and 
in  his  boyhood  days  there  were  very  few  school  ad- 
vantages, and  he  belonged  to  that  class  of  people 
who  seem  to  begrudge  the  rising  generation  all  the 
advantages  which  they  possess  above  those  who 
were  children  fifty  years  ago. 

He  had  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  time,  when  his 
own  wardrobe  consisted  of  one  new  suit  of  home- 
spun clothes  for  Sunday  wear  and  visiting;  and  a 
suit  of  the  same  material  well  covered  with  buck- 
skin patches  for  everyday ;  while  the  one  pair  of 
heavy  shoes  per  year  were  only  worn  when  abso- 
lutely necessary.  These  facts  were  always  served 
up  for  Charlie's  benefit  whenever  he  was  found 
with  a  book  in  hand  or  chanced  to  forget  any 
appointed  task. 

He  was  not  a  bad  man ;  indeed  he  thought 
himself  a  very  good  man  ;  he  went  regularly  to 
church,  asked  a  blessing  at  the  table,  and  boasted 
that  he  owed  no  man  a  dollar.  His  present  com- 
fortable situation  had  been  obtained  by  dint  of  hard 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      105 

labor,  small  savings,  and  rigid  economy  in  former 
days.  And  he  thought  he  was  fulfilling  the  terms 
of  the  bargain  William  Gordon  had  made  for  our 
hero,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word. 

The  boy  ate  at  the  same  table  with  him  except 
when  his  wife  had  company ;  and  then,  although 
he  knew  that  Charlie  always  had  to  wait,  he  never 
thought  to  inquire  whether  any  cake  or  preserve 
was  saved  for  him  or  not;  but  the  young  lady 
daughter  did  not  think  it  at  all  necessary  to  serve 
cake  to  a  hired  chore  boy,  so  he  seldom  obtained 
any  sweetmeats  ;  but  his  master  laid  aside  his  stip- 
ulated wages  with  great  regularity ;  and  told  Char- 
lie that  he  would  take  care  of  the  money,  and  when 
he  wanted  clothes,  he  would  get  them  for  him. 

When  Charlie  found  that  he  could  not  obtain 
books  in  the  house  which  was  called  his  home,  he 
sought  for  them  among  the  neighboring  families, 
and  found  them  quite  willing  to  lend  him  all  he 
wanted ;  but  his  master  thought  it  very  foolish  to 
waste  so  much  time  with  books  ;  he  was  accustomed 
to  remark,  "  I  never  had  but  fifty-two  days  school- 
ing in  all  my  life,  and  I  always  got  along  well 


106     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

enough."  If  he  saw  Charlie  with  a  book  in  his 
hand,  it  seemed  to  arouse  a  desire  to  find  him  some 
other  employment;  and  the  boy  came  to  expect  if 
his  master  found  him  reading,  that  he  would  think 
of  beans  that  were  to  be  shelled,  or  that  the  store 
wanted  sweeping,  or  of  some  new  goods  that  he 
had  forgot  to  mark ;  for  there  was  never  a  moment 
in  that  house  when  some  work  could  not  be  found ; 
and  at  last  Charlie  began  to  ask  himself,  if  there 
was  any  need  of  his  enduring  this  kind  of  treat- 
ment. 

William  Gordon  had  said  to  him  when  he  bade 
him  good  bye,  "  Stick  to  one  place  as  long  as  you 
can,  Charlie,  c  a  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss,'  and 
if  you  are  not  quite  suited,  don't  leave  a  poor  home 
until  you  are  sure  of  a  better  one."  And  this  ad- 
vice kept  the  boy  patient  nearly  a  year  in  the  home 
that  was  so  full  of  small  thorns.  But  when  John 
Norton  refused  him  a  lamp  to  go  to  bed  with, 
because  he  found  that  the  boy  often  read  for  hours 
in  his  lonely  chamber,  he  began  to  think  that  he 
had  been  patient  long  enough. 

A  party  of  miners  coming  to  the  store  to  obtain 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      107 

supplies,  brought  to  Charlie's  mind  a  prospect  of 
relief  from  the  unpleasantness  of  his  situation. 

He  found  from  their  conversation  that  they  were 
bound  for  some  "new  diggins "  of  which  they 
had  lately  heard ;  and  Charlie  made  up  his  mind 
to  go  with  them.  He  found  no  trouble  in  obtain- 
ing an  outfit,  for  he  had  never  spent  any  of  his 
wages ;  and  although  his  master  was  unwilling  to 
have  him  leave,  and  told  him  he  would  surely  rue 
the  day  that  he  had  left  so  good  a  home,  when  he 
found  the  boy  was  determined  to  go,  he  paid  him 
the  full  amount  due  him,  in  goods  from  his  stock 
in  trade. 

From  the  fund  left  him  by  his  friend,  Mr.  Gor- 
don, he  was  able  to  purchase  a  mule  and  still  have 
a  little  cash  left  for  future  use. 

On  the  day  appointed,  Charlie,  with  the  party  of 
miners  started  for  the  new  discoveries,  near  the 
Stanislaus ;  and  this  trip  led  them  through  a  new 
part  of  the  state,  and  along  the  banks  of  its  wind- 
ing rivers,  with  majestic  scenery  on  every  hand  ; 
through  deep  canons,  under  cliffs  of  perpendicular 
rocks  three  thousand  feet  in  height,  and  among  the 


108     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

tall  redwood  trees,  whose  immense  height  and  size 
have  since  become  the  wonder  of  the  world.  With 
these  scenes  now  and  then  mingled  a  fine  stream 
•of  water  whose  volume,  increased  bj  melting  snow, 
formed  cataracts  and  tiny  waterfalls,  each  a  pano- 
rama of  itself.  Camp  life  amid  such  scenes  was 
very  inviting ;  and  our  party  consisting  of  four 
young  men  besides  Charlie,  who  was  very  tall  for 
a  boy  of  fourteen,  made  a  very  happy  group  around 
the  camp  fire. 

Charlie  had  become  quite  an  expert  as  camp 
cook  during  the  two  years  that  he  had  spent  with 
his  friend  William  Gordon  among  the  mines,  but 
I  cannot  say  that  he  had  reached  the  ability  in  the 
art  of  making  slap-jacks  which  miners  usually 
claim ;  for  they  often  say  that  unless  the  cook  can 
successfully  toss  his  slap-jacks  in  the  air  and  catch 
them  again,  nicely  turned  and  right  side  up,  he 
should  lay  no  claim  to  being  a  camp  cook.  Some 
even  go  so  far  as  to  claim  the  ability  to  send  the 
slap-jack  up  the  chimney  and  be  ready  on  the  out- 
side to  catch  the  same,  nicely  turned,  done  brown, 
and  ready  to  be  served  with  bacon,  beans,  coffee,  etc. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      109 

"While  on  their  way  to  the  diggings  our  party 
found  plenty  of  game ;  and  the  streams  afforded 
trout,  deer  supplied  them  with  venison,  and  quail 
on  toast  or  utorteias  "  was  common. 

A  short  distance  from  the  route  they  were  pur- 
suing, theVonderful  Natural  Bridges  of  California 
were  to  be  found,  and  our  travelers  paused  and  turned 
aside  in  their  journey  to  visit  this  great  curiosity. 

These  bridges,  of  which  there  were  two,  were 
reached  by  passing  down  a  very  steep  path  or  trail, 
and  all  at  once  they  were  in  sight  of,  and  actually 
under  the  bridge,  which  hangs  between  the  high 
ridges  of  mountains,  like  a  huge  umbrella  without 
any  handle.  The  upper  arch  is  forty  feet  high  in 
the  centre  and  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet 
from  the  entrance  to  the  end.  These  formations 
are  of  cream  colored  rock,  and  slope  towards  the 
ends  or  entrance.  They  have  the  appearance  of 
being  formed  by  water  running  from  limestone 
ledges,  so  much  impregnated  with  lime, 'as  to  form 
granulated  and  solid  masses  of  rock,  in  the  same 
slow  manner  in  which  the  water  forms  crustings  on 
the  inner  surface  of  our  teakettles. 


110      THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY     CHARLIE. 

From  underneath  the  arch,  stalactites  or  slender 
spiral  points  of  rock,  hang  in  clusters  looking  very 
much  like  icicles,  only  they  are  cream  color  tinged 
with  green.  These  are  formed  by  water  dripping 
from  above,  and  are  met  in  places  by  stalagmites 
from  the  bottom  of  the  bridge,  or  rocky  floor 
through  which  a  torrent  of  water  roars,  forming  a 
grand  spectacle,  and  impressing  our  hero  with  the 
idea  that  he  must  be  dreaming  of  some  wild, 
unreal  pleasure  excursion,  from  which  he  will 
•sometimes  awake  to  the  cold  realities  of  life. 

After  leaving  this  grand  and  beautiful  scene,  and 
passing  through  the  grove  of  mammoth  trees,  now 
known  as  the  Calaveras  Group,  where  several  pros- 
trate trunks  were  seen  that  were  much  larger  than 
the  tallest  trees  then  standing, — one  of  them 
measuring  over  four  hundred  feet  in  length,  and 
many  of  the  standing  trees  measuring  from  ten  to 
eighteen  feet  in  diameter — the  miners  found  them- 
selves nearing  their  place  of  destination. 

They  proposed  to  engage  in  river  mining  ;  and 
they  located  their  camp,  and  built  their  sluices 
near  the  banks  of  the  Stanislaus. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      Ill 

The  sluices  were  made  by  nailing  three  boards, 
twelve  inches  wide  and  twelve  or  fourteen  feet 
long,  together,  forming  a  bottom  and  two  sides  ; 
these  boxes  or  troughs  were  fitted  together,  by 
placing  the  ends  into  each  other,  thus  forming  a 
long  line  ;  in  the  bottom  was  placed  strips  of  inch 
square  lumber  crosswise,  at  short  distances  from 
each  other;  these  were  called  riffles,  and  were 
intended  to  catch  and  retain  the  gold.  These 
sluices  were  placed  where  a  stream  of  water  could 
pass  through  them,  and  the  miners  by  their  side 
shoveled  dirt  into  them  all  day,  and  at  night  col- 
lected the  sediment  that  had  accumulated  during 
the  day,  and  washed  it  out  in  their  pans,  thus 
obtaining  all  the  gold  caught  in  the  riffles.  Some- 
times quicksilver  was  dropped  into  the  sluice  boxes 
to  catch,  and  cause  the  fine  gold  to  settle,  thus  sav- 
ing it  all. 

Charlie  was  now  a  miner  like  the  rest,  and 
depended  solely  on  his  own  efforts  for  support ;  but 
he  had  high  hopes,  and  sturdy  arms.  The  scenes 
in  which  his  boyhood  had  been  spent,  had  given 
him  robust  health,  and  made  of  the  slender,  deli- 


112     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

cate  boy,  a  strong-limbed  youth ;  while  living 
almost  wholly  among  resolute  men,  who  were  ready 
to  dare  any  dangers  to  achieve  the  objects  in  view, 
had  cultivated  a  strong  self-reliant  character  seldom 
found  in  one  so  young.  Each  day  found  him  by 
the  side  of  his  sluice  shoveling  the  dirt  and  gravel 
with  as  much  vigor  as  the  rest,  and  fortune  seemed 
to  favor  his  efforts. 

He  still  looked  forward  to  a  time  when  he  should 
be  rich  enough  to  return  to  the  States  and  find  his 
mother.  While  living  with  John  Norton,  he  had 
at  one  time  mailed  a  letter- to  his  foster-brother,  but 
this  had  came  back  to  him,  from  the  dead-letter 
office  ;  and  a  letter  of  inquiries  directed  to  the 
postmaster  of  the  only  town  in  Massachusetts  of 
which  he  could  remember  the  name,  brought  the 
response  that  no  such  person  lived  there.  Thus 
all  hope  for  the  future  rested  in  the  prospect  of 
obtaining  wealth  enough  to  go  East  and  look  for 
her.  The  thought  that  she  might  be  dead  never 
troubled  him.  To  the  imagination  of  youth  all 
things  wished  for  are  possible,  and  when  very 
weary  with  his  hard  toil,  this  thought  of  finding 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      113 

his  mother,  which  had  always  been  his  day  dream, 
cheered  him. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  from  their  camp,  three 
men  were  mining  in  a  gulch,  and  living  near  their 
mines.  These  men  were  almost  entirely  shut  out 
from  the  world  by  the  high  mountains,  and  no 
traveled  road  or  trail  passed  near  their  cabin,  as 
they  called  the  rude  dwelling  they  had  built  for  a 
shelter.  They  called  their  place  Nugget  Gulch ; 
for  several  gold  nuggets  had  been  found  there. 
These  men  sometimes  visited  the  camp  by  the 
river,  and  their  visits  were  returned  by  Charlie 
and  his  mates.  But  although  these  persons  .often 
met,  they  never  sought  to  learn  each  others  past 
history.  Their  conversation  was  chiefly  about  the 
"big  find"  of  yesterday,  or  mournful  comments 
on  the  days  which  brought  them  nothing.  And 
sometimes  the  miners  in  the  Gulch  had  tales  to 
tell  of  encounters  with  grizzly  bears,  or  panthers. 
Thus,  although  Charlie  had  lived  at  the  camp  by 
the  river  a  year,  he.  had  never  spoken  of  his  past 
life,  only  as  it  was  connected  with  mining. 

These  diggings   did   not   prove  very  rich,  only 


114     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

yielding  a  comfortable  support,  and  one  by  one  the 
members  of  the  party  drifted  away  to  other  camps 
and  new  diggings,  until  Charley  was  left  entirely 
alone ;  he  then  sought  and  obtained  leave  to  make 
his  home  with  the  miners  at  Nugget  Gulch. 

The  fact  of  a  boy  of  fifteen  being  alone  in  the 
mines  without  any  protector,  aroused  the  curiosity 
of  the  men  from  whom  he  had  sought  shelter ; 
while  his  companions  had  remained,  they  had  sup- 
posed that  he  was  in  some  way  under  their  protec- 
tion ;  but  the  young  men  themselves,  knowing  that 
he  had  left  an  unpleasant  home  when  he  joined 
them,  asked  no  questions.  When  questioned  by 
these  men  about  his  past  life,  a  natural  delicacy 
had  kept  him  from  speaking  about  any  trouble 
between  his  parents  ;  so  he  began  his  story  with 
the  time  when  he  had  found  the  emigrant  train 
with  his  uncle. 

At  this  time  he  had  been  known  as  Charley 
"Weston ;  and  the  boy  had  almost  forgotten  that 
he  had  any  right  to  any  other  name.  The  miners 
with  whom  he  had  crossed  the  plains  had  only 
known  him  by  this  name ;  and  when  later  years 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      115 

had  brought  added  knowledge,  and  a  reference  to 
the  trapper's  deed  had  shown  him  that  his  true 
name  was  Burton,  he  had  not  thought  it  of  any 
consequence ;  so  he  still  answered  to  the  name  of 
Weston  in  his  new  home. 

One  of  the  miners  seemed  to  feel  a  great  interest 
in  Charlie  ;  he  was  known  among  his  mates  as. 
Short  John  or  Dumpy,  for  he  was  below  medium 
height ;  and  as  he  was  never  called  anything  else, 
Charlie  had  been  at  Nugget  Gulch  a  whole  year 
before  he  learned  that  he  had  any  other  name. 
This  man  was  about  thirty  years  of  age,  and  had 
met  his  two  companions,  who  were  known  as 
Father  Thomas  and  Sam  Johnson,  at  a  mining 
camp  near  the  river.  Here  the  three  men  had 
joined  their  fortunes,  and  built  the  hut  in  the 
Gulch  for  a  shelter. 

These  men  were  very  rough  in  their  manners, 
and  inclined  to  make  sport  of  what  they  termed 
Charlie's  "fine  gentleman  airs,"  but  they  were 
kind  to  him  after. a  fashion,  and  he  was  grateful, 
and  bore  their  rough  jests  with  patience.  He  was 
able  to  make  himself  quite  useful  to  them  by 


116     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

writing  their  letters  home,  and  cheered  the  solitude 
of  the  cabin  by  sweet  songs  and  amusing  stories 
drawn  from  emigrant  life. 

.  It  chanced  one  day  that  Short  John,  and  Sam 
Johnson  who  always  carried  a  bowie-knife  and 
brace  of  pistols  in  his  belt,  went  to  the  nearest 
town  to  obtain  supplies  for  the  camp.  After  they 
returned,  a  dispute  arose  between  them,  about  the 
amount  of  money  paid  out,  and  Johnson,  who  had 
been  drinking,  grew  very  violent  and  nourished 
his  bowie-knife  in  a  dangerous  manner. 

Father  Thomas  had  received  his  cognomen, 
because  he  was  the  oldest  member  of  the  party, 
being  twenty  years  older  than  Johnson,  who  was 
forty,  and  he  was  their  acknowledged  leader.  Fear- 
ing that  the  quarrel  would  result  in  blows,  he 
stepped  between  the  disputants  and  ordered  them 
to  be  quiet ;  they  obeyed,  for  they  accepted  his 
commands  as  law. 

Having  produced  order,  the  old  man  called  upon 
Charlie  to  reckon  up  the  articles  purchased  and  see 
who  was  right;  whereupon  Short  John  pulled  a 
paper  from  his  pocket,  saying  that  he  always  took 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      117 

a  bill  of  the  goods  when  he  bought  for  "  partners." 
Charlie  took  the  bill,  and  read,  "John  Burton 

bought  of "  With  an  exclamation  of  surprise 

he  let  the  paper  fall  to  the  -floor. 

"What's  the  matter  with  you?"  asked  Father 
Thomas. 

"John  Burton  was  the  name  of  my  foster 
brother,  who  used  to  live  in  Troy  with  grand- 
mama." 

"And  I  was  brought  up  with  my  grandmother 
in  Troy,"  said  Short  John. 

"Here's  a  family  history  to  be  raked  up,  said 
Father  Thomas.  I  always  thought  them  two 
looked  alike." 

The  dispute  about  money  was  forgotten  in  this 
new  excitement ;  and  the  other  two  men  listened 
with  interest  while  John  and  Charlie  compared 
notes  of  the  past. 

When  John  told  of  the  uncle  who  had  been  so 
kind  to  him,  and  afterwards  filled  a  drunkard's 
grave,  being  found  drowned  in  the  river,  which  it 
was  supposed  he  had  fallen  into  while  drunk — the 
death-bed  scene  in  the  forest  cabin  came  back  to 


118   THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

Charlie's  inind  like  a  long  forgotten  dream,  and  he 
remembered  that  the  dying  man  had  told  of  read- 
ing his  own  death  in  the  paper,  and  resolving  that 
if  the  folks  at  home  thought  him  dead,  he  would 
never  undeceive  them,  until  he  could  go  back  a 
.  man  they  would  be  proud  to  know.  John's  eyes 
were  blurred  with  tears  when  Charlie  told  of  the 
lonely  death-bed,  and  the  grave  under  the  big 
cottonwood. 

When  both  Rexford  and  John  spoke  of  the  earn- 
est search  that  had  been  made  for  the  missing  boy, 
Charlie  recalled  the  time  when  he  had  started  for 
the  East,  and  the  hurried  wandering  journey  had 
ended  at  the  trapper's  cabin ;  and  both  men  saw  a 
connection  between  the  letter  he  spoke  of  as  having 
been  sent  by  Weston  to  his  mother,  and  the  one 
which  sent  Mary  Burton's  agents  into  the  wilds  of 
Michigan  to  look  for  the  lost  boy. 

Sam  Johnson  declared  the  story  was  as  good  as 
a  novel,  and  proposed  "to  treat  all  round,"  in 
honor  of  Charlie's  new  found  relatives  ;  an  offer 
which  was  promptly  declined,  for  Johnson  was  the 
only  one  in  the  cabin  who  ever  tasted  intoxicating 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      119 

beverages.  The  drunken  man  had  regained  his 
good  humor;  and  instead  of  being  angry  when  his 
treat  was  declined,  he  poured  out  a  glass  of  brandy 
and  "  drank  the  health  of  the  lady  who  was  going 
to  find  her  baby,"  and  then  betook  himself  to  bed 
to  sleep  off  his  drunken  frolic. 

Charlie  and  his  other  friends  sat  up  late  that 
night  to  talk  over  the  strange  events  which  had 
just  come  to  their  knowledge  ;  and  the  young  man 
expressed  himself  very  anxious  to  see  his  mother 
at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

"I  remember  now,"  said  Father  Thomas  (his 
proper  name  was  Kexford),  "coming  on  the  same 
steamer  with  your  mother.  Poor  woman !  Her 
friends  thought  she  was  in  consumption.  Your 
sure  she's  livin',  John?" 

"Yes,  she  was  six  months  ago;  for  I  saw  a 
friend  right  from  the  same  neighborhood,  and  he 
told  me  about  her." 

A  trip  to  San  Francisco  and  back  would  take 
some  weeks,  but  the  sympathy  of  Thomas  Kexford 
was  aroused,  and  he  suddenly  resolved  to  start 
with  Charlie  the  next  day,  and  take  his  bag  of 


120     THE  CAEEER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

gold,  the  savings  of  many  years,  and  send  the  pro- 
ceeds home  to  be  invested  in  land  which  was  selling 
at  a  low  figure  in  his  native  town. 

This  plan  agreed  upon,  Charlie  and  his  two 
friends  retired  to  rest. 

The  next  morning  Charlie  and  the  old  man 
strapped  their  gold  upon  their  persons,  and  each, 
mounted  upon  a  good  mule,  set  out  on  their  jour- 
ney. It  was  the  intention  of  both  to  return  again 
to  the  Gulch,  and  their  companions  wished  them  a 
happy  journey. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


I  wonder  that  some  mothers  ever  fret 
At  little  children  clinging  to  their  gown ; 

Or  that  the  footprints  when  the  days  are  wet, 
Are  ever  black  enough  to  make  them  frown. 

If  I  could  find  a  little  muddy  boot, 
Or  cap,  or  jacket,  on  my  chamber  floor — 

If  I  could  kiss  a  rosy,  restless  foot, 
And  hear  it  patter  in  my  house  once  more. 

If  I  could  mend  a  broken  cart  to-day, 
To-morrow  make  a  kite  to  reach  the  sky, 

There  is  no  woman  in  God's  world  could  say 
She  was  more  blissfully  content  than  I." 

— SELECTED  . 


ARY  BURTON  had  been  an  inmate 
of  her  brother's  family  for  ten 
years — weary  years  they  had  been 
to  her — filled  with  patient  sorrow 
and  waiting;  bitter  years,  picturing 
the  lost  one,  the  victim  of  cold  and  hunger,  of 
harsh  treatment,  of  manifold  temptations ;  and 
then  came  those  years  of  more  subdued  sorrow, 
when  her  heart  had  learned  to  wait,  doing  the  will 


122  THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

of  the  Master,  accepting  with  calm  patience  what 
each  day  brought — as  from  the  hand  of  the  Lord. 

Changeful  years  they  had  been,  for  death  had 
entered  the  family  and  taken  a  loved  one,  leaving 
the  bereaved  husband  and  daughter  to  need  her 
consolation  and  care.  Now  we  find  her  in  her 
brother's  home  acting  as  housekeeper;  for  he  is  a 
widower,  and  his  position  as  a  prominent  physician 
makes  her  cares  and  duties  numerous. 

"  I  feel  unusually  light-hearted  this  morning," 
she  said  to  her  sympathizing  brother. 

"Perhaps  you  will  hear  some  good  news  soon." 

' '  I  am  afraid  this  relief  to  my  usually  oppressed 
heart  is  but  the  precursor  of  some  new  disappoint- 
ment." 

"  Please  do  not  always  look  for  disappointments, 
auntie,"  said  the  sweet  voice  of  the  doctor's  daugh 
ter.  "  The  mail  from  the  East  is  due  this  morning, 
perhaps  you  may  hear  some  good  news  ;  some  trace 
may  have  been  found  of  Charlie." 
"  "Yes,  this  is  the  day  for  overland  mail,  and  the 
steamer  is  overdue  three  days,  but  I  seldom  receive 
letters,  you  know." 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      12S 

There  is  an  old  proverb,  "  Coming  events  cast 
their  shadows  before."  Why  may  we  not  change 
the  idea  a  little,  and  repeat,  cast  their  sunlight 
before  them.  Certainly  there  is  a  powerful  mag- 
netism that  attracts  heart  to  heart ;  and  the  eager- 
ness that  glowed  in  the  heart  of  that  long  separated 
son,  now  speeding  over  the  road  to  the  city  in  the 
mail  stage,  was  reflected  like  sunlight  in  the  heart 
of  the  mother,  as  she  went  about  her  daily  duties 
humming  an  old  tune. 

The  welcome  mail  would  soon  arrive.  What  an 
eager  throng  was  already  waiting  at  the  post-office, 
just  down  the  street.  Many  would  go  away  with 
joyful  faces,  and  others  with  disappointed  looks 
and  sad  hearts,  missing  the  letters  that  never 
came.  ' '  Hark !  there  comes  the  stage, ' '  was  heard 
in  nearly  every  house  ;  for  the  day  on  which  the 
overland  mail  was  due,  was  an  event  of  great 
importance. 

u  Oh,  auntie,  the  stage  is  stopping  here!" 
exclaimed  Alice  Rossimere.  "  Somebody  is  getting 
out!" 

It  was  Thomas  Eexford  who  left  the  stage  first,. 


124     THE  CAEEEE  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

and  Mary  Burton  recognized  the  kindly  face  of  the 
man  who  had  shown  her  so  many  kindnesses  on 
board  the  steamer  when  her  heart  was  so  nearly 
crushed  by  her  recent  loss  /  but  a  young  man  was 
descending  now,  and  the  mother's  heart  gave  a 
quick  throb ;  for  there  was  the  same  blue  eyes,  and 
light  wavy  hair  of  the  boy  she  had  not  seen  in 
nearly  eleven  years.  Her  heart  could  not  deceive 
her,  and  in  a  moment  she  had  flown  to  the  door, 
and  mother  and  child  were  folded  in  a  loving 
embrace.  Tears  followed  freely,  but  they  were 
tears  of  joy — and  the  first  meeting  over,  the  friendly 
miner  was  greeted  with  a  hearty  welcome  and  over- 
whelmed with  thanks. 

After  an  hour  had  passed,  Dr.  Kossimere  re- 
turned from  his  round  of  morning  calls,  and  gave 
to  the  nephew  he  had  never  seen  before  a  fond 
embrace,  and  to  the  elderly  gentleman  who  had 
assisted  at  the  reunion  of  mother  and  son  a  heart- 
felt welcome. 

A  happy  party  were  soon  seated  at  the  nconday 
meal ;  but  the  joy  and  excitement  in  the  hearts  of 
two,  at  least,  did  not  leave  them  much  appetite  for 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE.      125 

dinner.  The  story  of  the  meeting  in  the  mines, 
by  the  foster  brothers,  was  discussed ;  the  thrill  of 
joy  that  pervaded  the  mother's  heart  in  the  morn- 
ing, was  referred  to,  and  then  Mr.  Rexford  began 
to  talk  of  returning  to  the  mines,  and  asked  Char- 
lie if  he  was  going  back  with  him. 

It  was  the  doctor  who  answered  the  question. 
No!  Mary  cannot  spare  her  boy,  she  has  been 
deprived  of  him  so  long." 

"I'm  a  man  now,"  said  Charlie,  "and  I  must 
make  a  home  for  my  mother.  She  has  been 
dependent  upon  the  bounty  of  others  long  enough." 

"We  will  admit,  Charlie,  thatjou  are  a  man  in 
stature,  and  a  well-proportioned  one,"  said  the 
doctor,  gazing  with  pride  on  his  nephew,  who  was 
six  feet  in  height,  and  although  of  slender  build, 
possessed  strong,  well  knit  limbs,  "but  a  boy  of 
sixteen  has  much  to  learn  before  he  will  be  capable 
of  making  a  home  for  his  mother ;  besides,  I  am 
not  ready  to  spare  my  housekeeper  yet." 

The  question  of  Charlie's  returning  to  the  mines 
was  at  once  settled  by  the  doctor  promising  to  find 
him  some  employment  in  the  city ;  and  the  kind 


126      THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

friend  who  had  accompanied  him  was  pressed  to 
remain  for  a  long  visit.  He  decided  to  accept  the 
hospitality  offered  him  for  three  days,  after  which, 
lie  said  he  must  return  to  the  gulch,  for  his  two 
friends  there  would  begin  to  be  anxious  at  his  long 
absence.  The  three  days  were  spent  by  Mary  Bur- 
ton and  her  niece  in  showing  their  visitors  the  prin- 
cipal objects  of  interest  in  the  city,  and  then  Mr. 
Kexford  bade  them  farewell,  promising  to  some- 
time visit  them  again,  and  returned  to  the  mines, 
well  pleased  with  his  errand,  and  carrying  with 
him  pleasant  recollections  of  one  face  he  had  left 
behind. 

After  their  visitor  had  gone,  the  family  inquired 
more  particularly  into  the  past  life  of  their  long 
lost  relative;  and  Mary  Burton  wept  over  the 
•death-bed  scene  in  the  forest  cabin  ;  forgiving  in 
her  heart  the  wretched  man  who  had  caused  her 
so  much  sorrow,  when  she  heard  from  the  lips  of 
her  son  of  his  repentance  and  lonely  death.  When 
Charlie  told  of  the  wild  journey,  which  had  ended 
at  the  trapper's  cabin,  and  of  the  months  spent 
with  the  Mormon  emigrants,  the  doctor  and  his 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      127 

sister  both  thought  of  the  gay  and  dashing  Arthur 
Weston,  and  felt  sure  that  it  was  the  same  man  who 
was  sleeping  in  the  lonely  grave  by  the  mountain 
roadside. 

When  the  story  was  all  told,  the  mother  clasped 
her  boy  in  her  arms,  and  sent  up  a  silent  prayer  of 
thanksgiving,  that  her  child  had  been  kept  in  safety 
amid  all  the  perils  of  his  surroundings.  The  long 
weary  years  of  praying  and  waiting  had  passed ; 
the  full  fruition  of  her  hopes  had  come  —her  boy 
was  restored  to  her  again ;  not  as  he  might  have 
come,  soiled  and  tarnished  by  his  contact  with 
the  world,  but  a  picture  of  manly  beauty,  with  a 
heart  as  pure  and  unsullied  as  it  was  the  day  he 
left  her  side  ;  and  she  realized  at  this  moment  the 
full  force  of  this  great  blessing. 

When  the  mother  told  of  the  weary  years  of 
waiting,  and  the  bitter  tears  she  had  shed  as  she 
thought  of  what  might  be  his  fate,  Charlie  kissed 
her,  and  told  her  he  would  make  her  last  days  her 
best  days. 

"How  very  tall  you  are,  for  a  boy  of  sixteen,"  said 
his  mother  one  day  when  they  were  alone  together. 


128     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

' '  I  have  lived  among  tall  trees  and  tall  moun- 
tains," he  said,  laughing;  and  then  more  soberly, 
"  Uncle  William  calls  me  a  boy,  but  he  does  not 
know  that  I  have  felt  a  man's  responsibility  for  the 
last  three  years." 

The  beautiful  month  of  May  had  come  with  its 
buds  and  flowers  ;  and  the  orchard  near  the  house 
was  white  with  apple-blossoms  just  ready  to  shed 
their  bloom  in  a  white  carpet  on  the  ground. 

Three  weeks  had  gone  by  since  Charlie's  return, 
and  they  had  been  so  full  of  pleasure  that  they 
passed  away  very  swiftly ;  but  the  young  man  was 
growing  uneasy;  he  had  compared  his  mother's 
pale,  wan  face  with  the  picture  taken  twelve  years 
ago,  and  had  noticed  that  the  bloom  had  faded 
from  her  cheek,  and  he  was  anxious  to  be  at  work, 
earning  for  her  that  home  which  had  now  become 
the  goal  of  his  ambition. 

The  time  he  had  spent  in  "William  Gordon's  store 
and  his  year  with  John  Norton  had  fitted  him 
for  a  clerk's  position.  Helped  by  his  uncle's  influ- 
ence, he  found  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  clerk- 
ship, which  he  retained  for  two  years,  saving  quite 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      129 

a  sum  each  year.  After  this  time  an  opportunity 
offered  to  engage  in  a  business  that  brought  him  a 
large  sum  of  money  in  a  short  time.  This  business 
was  traveling  to  sell  musical  instruments  on  com- 
mission ;  his  former  wandering  life  had  given  him 
considerable  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  a  nat- 
urally pleasing  address  and  ready  fund  of  anecdote 
gained  him  admission  where  others  would  not  have 
been  received.  He  gave  every  energy  to  this  busi- 
ness, and  found  it  very  profitable. 

After  he  had  spent  two  years  as  a  traveling 
agent,  he  was  able  to  furnish  a  humble  home  for 
his  mother.  He  was  very  glad  to  be  able  to  do 
this,  for  his  uncle  had  taken  another  wife,  and  now 
that  her  brother  no  longer  needed  her  services,  she 
did  not  wish  to  remain  a  burden  upon  his  charity. 

What  a  satisfaction  it  is  to  have  a  home  of  your 
own,  be  it  ever  so  humble — a  place  where  you  can 
do  as  you  like,  without  fearing  that  some  one  will 
think  you  are  taking  liberties — where  you  know 
you  are  always  welcome,  and  no  one  has  a  right  to 
intrude  upon  you. 

To  the  mother  who  had  been  deprived  of  a  home 


130     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

of  her  own  for  fifteen  years,  this  change  was  very 
grateful ;  to  the  young  man  who  had  never  felt  the 
blessing  of  a  home  since  he  could  remember,  a 
little  cottage  furnished  and  supported  by  himself 
seemed  a  paradise  of  itself.  When  returning 
from  his  toil,  the  flutter  of  the  white  curtain 
through  the  partly  open  blind,  and  the  perfume  of 
the  climbing  rose  by  the  door,  brought  to  his  mind 
a  sense  of  possession  that  was  very  sweet. 

One  evening  while  Charlie  was  chatting  with  his 
mother,  something  led  them  to  refer  to  the  past, 
and  the  conversation  drifted  back  to  the  winter  in 
the  trapper's  cabin  ;  this  brought  the  deed  to  Char- 
lie's mind.  Now  he  had  never  mentioned  this  deed 
to  any  one  since  William  Gordon  returned  to  the 
States.  Shortly  after  his  return  from  school,  he 
had  mentioned  the  deed  to  his  friend,  and  Mr. 
Gordon  had  then  given  it  into  his  possession,  with 
the  remark  that  "  he  did  not  know  as  it  was  good  for 
anything."  He  now  mentioned  it  to  his  mother,  and 
she,  after  examining  the  document,  advised  Charlie 
to  write  to  the  agency  and  see  if  he  could  learn  any- 
thing about  the  trapper,  and  this  he  did  at  once. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      131 

About  this  time  our  hero  made  the  acquaintance 
of  a  young  lady  toward  whom  he  felt  very  much 
attracted.  For  four  years  the  love  of  a  mother  had 
seemed  all  that  was  necessary  to  his  happiness ;  but 
the  society  of  the  opposite  sex  had  great  attractions 
for  him,  and  he  soon  overcame  all  the  awkward- 
ness which  his  early  training  caused  him  to  feel  in 
polite  society,  while  his  sweet  voice,  genial  dispo- 
sition, and  varied  travels,  made  him  a  welcome 
guest  at  many  firesides. 

During  his  travels  as  a  salesman  he  had  met 
this  lady,  whom  he  thought  was  the  one,  of  all 
others,  necessary  to  his  happiness.  She  possessed 
great  beauty  and  intelligence,  and  the  attraction 
between  them  was  mutual.  Three  months  acquaint- 
ance served  to  convince  this  pair  that  they  were 
intended  for  each  other ;  and  the  end  of  it  all  was, 
a  quiet  wedding  one  bright  June  morning  in  a  small 
frame  house  in  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento.  After 
two  or  three  weeks  spent  in  farewell  visits  .to  the 
companions  of  her  girlhood,  Charlie  brought  his 
wife  to  San  Francisco,  and  left  her  with  his  mother 
at  the  cottage  on  the  hill,  which  overlooked  the  bay, 


132     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

while  he  still  pursued  his  vocation  of  traveling 
agent. 

Charlie's  mother  was  very  much  pleased  with 
his  choice,  and  it  was  very  pleasant  to  her  to  have 
the  companionship  of  a  young  girl  to  cheer  the 
hours  of  loneliness  when  his  business  called  him 
so  much  from  home.  It  seemed  hard  for  this 
mother  to  be  separated  from  her  son  at  all,  but  he 
seldom  remained  away  long  at  a  time,  and  always 
left  an  address  at  which  she  could  write  to  him. 
His  own  letters  to  her  were  very  frequent,  and  now 
the  presence  of  his  bright-eyed  wife  made  her  home 
very  attractive. 

Charlie  was  a  great  lover  of  hoine,  and  the  wan- 
dering life  he  had  been  forced  to  lead  only  served 
to  make  it  dearer  to  him ;  and  now  that  he  had 
taken  a  wife,  he  began  to  think  seriously  of  seeking 
some  other  employment.  It  is  true,  the  business 
in  which  he  was  engaged,  furnished  them  with  a 
comfortable  support,  but  it  had  this  drawback,  that 
it  took  him  so  much  from  home. 

About  three  weeks  after  his  marriage  he  received 
an  answer  to  the  letter  he  Had  sent  to  the  agency, 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.   133 

where  he  had  first  met  the  trapper.  He  had 
received  no  intelligence  from  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try since  that  day  on  which  he  had  bid  the  trapper 
and  his  pet  pigeon  good  bye  when  he  had  expected 
to  start  for  school  at  Des  Moines. 

His  letter  now  told  him  that  his  kind  friend  was 
dead ;  that  he  had  been  killed  by  a  falling  tree ; 
and  had  perished  with  no  one  near  him,  but  the 
dog  which  had  been  his  companion  for  many  years. 
The  friendly  Indians,  he  had  often  fed,  had  found 
his  body,  with  the  dog  watching  beside  it,  and 
buried  it.  This  was  sad  news  to  our  hero ;  and  he 
recalled,  with  moistened  eyes,  the  many  little  toys 
his  kind  friend  had  made  for  him;  and  how  he 
had  striven  in  every  manner  to  make  that  lonely 
cabin  pleasant. 

His  letter  also  stated  that  there  was  a  deed  on 
record  giving  the  farm  in  Iowa  to  Charles  E.  Bur- 
ton ;  that  this  person  had  been  advertised  for,  and 
the  property  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  agent  until 
an  owner  could  be  found.  The  farm  had  been 
divided  into  town  lots,  and  the  owner  not  appear- 
ing, the  trapper's  mother  after  being  convinced 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

that  her  son  was  dead,  had  signed  a  writing  con- 
senting to  the  sale  of  some  of  these  lots. 

Charlie  sent  a  letter  to  the  county  recorder  and 
obtained  the  address  of  the  agent  holding  posses- 
sion of  the  property.  It  took  several  months  to 
get  at  all  of  the  facts  of  the  case ;  but  the  final 
result  was  very  pleasing.  The  property  was  his, 
without  doubt,  after  the  death  of  the  old  lady,  who 
was  represented  as  very  feeble,  and  very  anxious  to 
meet  the  young  man,  in  whom  her  son  had  taken 
such  an  interest.  The  trapper  had  written  to  his 
mother,  when  he  had  failed  to  hear  anything  from 
Weston,  and  had  told  her  of  the  little  boy  to  whom 
he  had  given  the  farm,  after  they  had  got  through 
with  it.  The  agent  advised  that  Mr.  Burton  should 
come  at  once  to  Des  Moines  and  prove  his  right. 

This  piece  of  information  came  in  good  time. 
The  little  cottage  on  the  hill  was  to  be  sold,  and 
Charlie  was  expecting  to  be  obliged  to  leave  this 
home  that  had  been  so  pleasant  to  him.  With  the 
prospect  of  a  large  fortune  soon  coming  into  his 
possession,  our  hero  found  no  trouble  in  hiring 
money  enough  to  purchase  the  cottage  in  which 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      135 

they  lived.  Desiring  a  rest,  and  having  enough 
money  in  the  bank  to  pay  the  expenses  of  a  trip  to 
Des  Moines,  he  decided  to  take  his  wife  and  go 
East.  The  completion  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  had 
made  such  a  journey  nothing  but  a  pleasure  excur- 
sion, and  the  appearance  of  John  Burton  at  the 
cottage,  just  at  this  time,  removed  the  last  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  the  journey,  that  was — somebody  to 
stay  with  his  mother. 

Charlie  had  held  a  correspondence  with  his  old 
friends  in  the  mines,  and  had  often  urged  them  to 
make  him  a  visit ;  but  the  time  for  visiting  had  not 
come  for  either  of  them.  Now  the  camp  in  the 
Gulch  had .  been  broken  up ;  Sam  Johnson  had 
been  killed  in  a  drunken  fight  with  another  miner  ; 
and  Thomas  Rexford  and  John  had  made  arrange- 
ments to  commence  the  broker's  business  in  San 
Francisco.  Mr.  Rexford  had  invested  his  bag  of 
gold  in  bank  stock  in  San  Francisco,  instead  of 
sending  it  to  the  States  as  he  had  at  first  intended, 
and  both  he  and  John  came  to  board  with  Char- 
lie's mother. 

They  had  celebrated  our  hero's  twenty-first  birth. 


136     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

day,  soon  after  John's  arrival,  and  on  the  first  day 
of  the  New  Year,  Charles  K.  Burton  and  wife  took 
tickets  in  the  palace  car  for  Omaha. 

How  different  was  this  journey  from  the  one  he 
had  made  thirteen  years  before,  as  seen  from  the 
window  of  the  palace  car  ;  not  only  that  everything 
was  dressed  in  its  winter  robes,  but  the  hand  of 
time  had  wrought  many  changes.  The  same  tall 
trees  and  mountains  were  there ;  the  same  wonder- 
ful rocks,  deep  canons,  and  dark  ravines ;  but  the 
former  desolate  region  was  enlivened  by  houses, 
shops,  hotels,  and  the  busy  hum  of  life  where  only 
nature  had  been  visible  before ;  and  where  he  had 
then  made  but  twenty  miles  a  day  they  passed 
over  in  an  hour — each  hour  presenting  some  new 
feature ;  now  dashing  through  a  tunnel,  then  a 
snow  shed,  up  the  steep  mountain  road,  and 
again  into  a  valley,  until  the  level  plains  were 
reached. 

Charlie  and  his  wife  had  risen  early  on  the  morn- 
ing that  they  crossed  the  plains,  and  were  rewarded 
by  seeing  the  sun  rise  in  majestic  glory  from  behind 
the  mountains  just  visible  in  the  dim  distance ; 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      137 

while  the  frightened  buffalo  and  deer  scampered 
away  over  the  plains  now  white  with  snow. 

Along  the  waste  country  lying  between  the 
Wasatch  Range  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  they 
saw  many  beautiful,  bright  pink  flowers  growing 
in  and  through  the  snow,  which  were  called  snow 
flowers,  and  were  very  curious.  They  were  a  spe- 
cies of  fungie,  resembling  somewhat  the  Indian 
pipes  or  convulsion  weed  which  we  find  in  swamps 
in  the  Eastern  States  during  the  spring. 

Arriving  at  Des  M oines,  he  soon  found  the  agent, 
and  was  received  with  all  the  deference  due  to  the 
handsome  property  he  was  expected  to  inherit; 
from  this  person  he  learned  the  whereabouts  of  the 
trapper's  mother. 

The  agent,  together  with  Charlie  and  his  wife, 
paid  a  visit  to  the  old  lady  to  arrange  the  law  mat- 
ters between  them,  for  she  was  anxious  to  give  up 
the  property  to  her  son's  protogee,  retaining  for 
herself  only  a  yearly  income  sufficient  for  her  sup- 
port. 

She  gave  the  young  man  and  his  beautiful  wife 
a  kindly  welcome ;  and  inquired  the  name  of  his 


138   THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

parents,  and  his  home  in  the  East,  tracing  his  ped- 
igree away  back  to  his  great  grandfather,  on  his 
father's  side,  then  embracing  him  with  tears  of  joy 
she  exclaimed,  "'Tis  as  I  thought,  you  are  the 
child  of  my  youngest  brother." 

Charlie  had  heard  his  Aunt  Jane  mentioned  by 
his  mother,  but  she  had  not  been  heard  from  for 
years,  and  was  supposed  to  be  dead.  She  told  her 
listeners  that  she  had  gone  West  with  some  distant 
relatives,  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  The  family  had 
located  themselves  in  Iowa,  and  built  a  cabin  upon 
a  tract  of  government  land.  When  she  was  about 
seventeen,  the  house  had  been  plundered  and 
burned  by  the  Indians.  Her  cousin  and  his  son 
had  fallen  in  the  defence  of  their  home,  and  his 
wife,  who  had  been  wounded,  was  dispatched  by 
the  tomahawk  and  thrown  into  the  flames,  while 
she  had  been  carried  away  captive.  She  had  been 
rescued  by  a  trapper,  who  asked  her  to  become  his 
wife.  They  were  married,  and  he  had  taken  up 
the  farm  and  built  a  sod-house  upon  it,  and  there 
they  had  dwelt  happily  together. 

They  had  been  blest  with  two  children,  a  girl 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      1391 

and  boy.  Her  daughter  and  husband  had  been 
removed  by  death  before  her  son  had  reached  his 
twelfth  year ;  but  her  son  had  always  been  good  to 
her,  and  provided  her  with  a  comfortable  home 
until  that  false-hearted  girl  had  turned  his  head. 
He  had  taken  after  his  father  for  hunting ;  and 
although  he  never  came  home,  or  wrote  to  her 
much,  she  did  not  blame  him ;  he  knew  she  had 
all  she  wanted.  She  had  written  once  to  her 
friends  in  the  East,  but  not  receiving  any  reply, 
she  thought  they  had  forgotten  her. 

The  old  lady's  health  was  rapidly  failing,  and 
she  begged  her  new  found  relatives  to  remain  with 
her  to  the  last.  This  they  did,  her  death  occurring 
in  three  weeks  after  their  arrival. 

After  the  funeral,  the  property,  which  was  quite 
valuable,  was  all  disposed  of,  making  the  fortunate 
owner  worth  forty  thousand  dollars,  after  all 
expenses  were  paid. 

This  sum  he  placed  on  deposit  with  a  reliable- 
banking  house,  and  started  with  his  wife  to  visit 
the  home  of  his  boyhood.  He  soon  found  the  city 
in  which  he  was  born,  and  the  one  from  which  he 


140     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

had  been  stolen.  Here  he  was  able  to  point  out 
to  Minnie,  his  wife,  the  identical  schoolhouse  from 
which  he  had  been  abducted,  the  locality  having 
been  given  him  by  his  mother. 

There  was  no  one  in  either  place  with  whom  he 
was  acquainted,  for  his  aunt  and  grandmother  were 
both  dead  ;  and  after  looking  at  the  few  houses, 
which  his  mother's  description  had  localized  to 
him,  and  visiting  the  objects  of  interest  to  strang- 
ers, which  both  cities  contained,  they  took  a  state 
room  on  one  of  the  sound  steamers  for  New  York 
and  from  thence  they  traveled  in  the  palace  car  to 
San  Francisco,  stopping  by  the  way  to  visit  the 
principal  cities,  that  Charlie  might  decide  where  to 
locate  his  future  home. 

In  Chicago  he  met  several  gentlemen  who  were 
interested  in  mining,  and  were  about  forming  a 
new  company.  Charlie  became  one  of  the  com- 
pany, and  was  elected  as  its  agent  for  the  Golden 
State.  The  business  arrangements  all  being  com- 
pleted, Charlie  and  his  wife  departed  for  their 
"Western  home. 

uWhat  an  eventful  life  I  have  had,"  said  Char- 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      141 

lie,  turning  from  the  car  window,  to  address  his 
wife. 

1  '  Yes,"  replied  she.  "It  seems  more  like  a 
story  than  reality." 

"  I  wonder  how  much  more  of  tumult  and  change 
I  shall  have  to  pass  through,"  said  he,  gazing 
intently  at  the  distant  hills,  now  bathed  in  the 
slanting  rays  of  the  setting  sun. 

"  Oh !  we  will  hope  for  a  brilliant  life  and  happy 
days.  We  are  both  young  and  may  have  a  long 
life  before  us ;  we  certainly  have  a  very  fair  pros- 
pect." 

Minnie  Burton  had  a  hopeful  nature,  and  always 
looked  on  the  bright  side  of  things. 

"When  I  get  home  I  shall  have  to  go  to  mining; 
how  will  you  like  to  exchange  city  life  for  the  rough 
mining  districts,  and  no  society  to  speak  of?" 

"I  think  it  will  be  splendid!  I  always  loved 
rough  scenery,  and  as  for  society,  I  shall  have  you 
my  dear,  and  I  will  ornament  our  home  with  the 
curious  things  wnich  are  always  so  plenty  in  mining 
regions." 

"What  a  surprise  for  mother  we  shall  have, 


142     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

when  we  tell  her  about  Aunt  Jane.  I  have  not 
written  about  this,  there  was  so  much  to  tell — and 
that  poor  fellow  who  did  so  much  for  me,  was  my 
own  cousin." 

"  See  that  steamer,  Charlie."  Minnie  was  point- 
ing down  the  Mississippi,  for  the  train  was  nearing 
the  river,  and  steamers  were  passing  in  both  direc- 
tions. The  one  that  attracted  Minnie's  attention 
was  just  coming  towards  the  great  bridge  that 
spans  the  river,  and  would  have  to  pass  under  the 
bridge,  while  the  cars  were  going  over  it.  Minnie 
felt  some  curiosity  to  know  how  the  steamer  could 
pass  the  bridge  without  its  being  withdrawn  ;  and 
while  her  husband  was  explaining  that  the  bridge  was 
built  high  enough  not  to  interfere  with  the  steamer, 
the  handsome  boat  passed  up  the  river  directly 
under  the  car  window,  making  a  very  fine  picture. 

They  were  soon  passing  over  the  same  streams, 
past  the  same  landmarks,  and  close  to  the  road 
that  he  had  traveled  over  with  the  Mormon  emi- 
grants. A  few  days  more  and  they  were  at  the 
little  cottage  on  the  hill,  where  they  were  received 
with  a  glad  welcome  from  the  waiting  mother. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      14:3 

Not  many  days  after  their  return  they  bade  John 
Burton  good-bye  on  the  deck  of  the  mail  steamer, 
wishing  him  good  luck,  for  he  had  decided  to 
return  to  the  States. 

In  a  week  there  came  another  parting,  for  Mr. 
Burton  and  his  wife  were  obliged  to  leave  lor  the 
distant  mountain  region,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
State  ;  but  before  they  went,  they  assisted  at  the 
private  wedding  of  Mary  Burton  and  Thomas  Rex- 
ford  ;  and  Charlie  made  the  happy  pair  a  present 
of  the  cottage  on  the  hill. 


CHAPTEK   X. 


Oh,  there  is  a  solemn  peace,  and  strength  sublime, 

And  holy  fortitude,  and  deep,  sweet  rest 
In  all  our  thoughts  and  visions  of  that  clime 

Where  dwell  the  spirits  of  the  loved  and  blest. 
In  every  hue  of  gladsome  beauty  drest, 

They  come  across  our  hearts  like  gleams  of  light, 
Fraught  with  a  mission,  at  God's  high  behest — 

A  mission  to  relieve  our  mental  sight 
By  glimpses  of  a  life  where  all  is  calm  and  bright." 

—FLOWER  VASE. 


HE  marriage  of  Charlie's  mother  came 
about  very  suddenly  to  all  concerned ; 
but  the  bridegroom  urged  that  as 
they  had  known  each  other  lor  many 
years,  and  were  both  advanced  in 
life,  there  was  no  need  of  a  long  courtship ;  and  as 
Charlie  and  his  wife  were  both  intending  to  leave 
her  so  soon,  the  bride  was  more  willing  to  consent. 
The  next  morning  after  the  wedding,  Charlie 
Burton  and  wife  started  for  the  mines,  for  which  he 
was  to  act  as  superintendent  and  business  agent. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      145 

They  were  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Yuba 
River,  and  the  journey,  which  was  partly  by  rail 
and  partly  by  stage,  occupied  five  days.  A  small 
house  was  obtained  about .  three  miles  from  the 
mines,  and  furnished  plainly,  and  this  place,  which 
was  to  be  their  home,  Minnie  at  once  set  herself 
at  work  to  render  cheerful  in  every  possible  man- 
ner. The  walls,  which  were  of  matched  boards, 
and  were  not  papered,  she  hung  with  pictures 
which  they  had  brought  from  the  city.  The  win- 
dows were  curtained  with  plain  white  muslin,  trim- 
med with  lace  knit  by  her  own  fair  fingers,  while 
the  chintz-covered  lounge  and  cushioned  rocker 
were  made  more  tasty  by  the  addition  of  the  em- 
broidered tidies  which  had  been  the  wedding  gifts 
of  her  young  lady  friends.  Three  boards,  of  grad- 
uated length,  finished  on  the  edge  by  strips  of 
leather,  making  an  indented  or  scalloped  edge, 
stained  black  and  varnished,  made  a  very  pretty 
bookshelf,  when  held  in  place  by  strong  cords. 

They  had  reached  their  stopping-place  near  the 
last  of  February,  and  the  rainy  season,  which  had 
just  set  in,  kept  Minnie  nearly  all  the  time  within 


146      THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

doors,  and  she  spent  her  lonely  hours  in  adding  to 
the  beauty  of  their  home. 

The  kind  of  mining  which  this  company  engaged 
in,  was  called  placer  mining  by  hydraulic  force. 
This  is  considered  the  most  thorough  system  of 
placer  mining,  for  large  quantities  of  earth  are 
washed  down  in  a  short  space  of  time  by  the  force 
of  a  very  heavy  pressure  of  water.  Streams  of 
great  volume  are  led  into  ditches  and  flumes,  from 
great  distances  and  high  altitudes,  to  a  large  reser- 
voir, or  other  confining  points ;  and  from  here 
they  are  led  through  large  pipes,  down  mountain 
sides,  up  over  steep  hills,  finally  to  the  distributing- 
points,  where  the  pent  up  volume  is  allowed  to 
rush  against  the  side  of  a  hill,  with  great  force, 
through  a  small  pipe  not  more  than  ten  inches  in 
diameter,  carrying  everything  before  it.  By  this 
means  whole  hills  are  washed  down,  and  the  waste 
water,  dirt,  rocks  and  debris  are  at  last  lead 
through  long  flumes,  subdivided,  and  continued  in 
some  cases  many  miles.  The  gold  is  caught  on 
the  bottom  of  the  flume,  which  is  composed  of  two 
bottoms,  one  made  of  five  or  six  inch  thick  pieces 


THE  CAEEEB  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHAELIE.      147 

of  timber,  sawed  from  the  ends  of  logs,  and 
placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  flume  for  riffles,  and  to 
protect  it  against  wear  from  the  rocks  that  pass 
through  it. 

It  took  some  time  to  get  everything  ready  for 
operation ;  and  then  six  months  passed  before  a 
clean-up  was  thought  desirable. 

The  clean-up  took  eight  weeks,  and  was  conducted 
in  the  following  manner :  All  of  the  water,  or 
nearly  all,  was  shut  off,  and  the  log  ends  pulled 
out  from  the  bottom  of  the  flume,  and  the  settled 
ore  and  sand  were  allowed  to  work  gradually  off  by 
forcing  a  small  stream  of  water  through  the  flume, 
thus  carrying  to  its  mouth  the  bulk  of  the  dirt,  and 
at  convenient  distances  wide  water-platforms  were 
placed  with  riffles  or  strips  nailed  closely  together, 
being  not  over  one  and  a  half  inches  apart,  and 
over  this  the  sediment  was  finally  washed,  and 
thus  the  gold  was  saved.  The  result  of  nearly  nine 
months'  labor  was  a  small  dividend  after  paying  all 
of  the  costs. 

Our  hero  found  his  work  very  confining,  but,  he 
received  a  good  salary,  and  was  intending  to  remain 


148     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

another  year  at  this  place  ;  but  just  at  this  time  a 
great  excitement  was  raised  among  the  miners  in 
the  neighborhood  by  the  silver  discoveries  of 
Nevada.  There  was  a  great  rush  for  the  new  dig- 
gings, and  for  a  while  men  could  not  be  found  to 
work  the  mines  near  the  Yuba.  Charlie  at  last 
became  infected  with  the  prevailing  fever  of  emi 
gration,  and  soon  gave  up  his  situation  and  joined 
the  crowd  that  were  pushing  into  Washoe  County. 

A  twenty-four  hours'  ride  by  railroad  brought 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burton  to  Virginia  City.  They 
found  more  men  already  gathered  here  than  could 
find  employment,  and  leasing  a  hotel  they  com- 
menced the  business  of  entertaining  guests.  This 
they  found  very  successful,  for  Charlie  proved  a 
most  agreeable  host,  and  Minnie  showed  herself 
capable  of  ruling  a  large  number  of  servants  in  the 
very  best  manner. 

In  this  position  Charlie  was  able  to  obtain  a  great 
deal  of  information  about  mining  and  stocks,  and 
saw  a  great  deal  of  life  under  different  phases. 
Among  his  guests  were  some  who  had  grown  rich 
in  a  single  week  through  successful  speculation,  and 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      149 

others  holding  stocks,  which  had  cost  them  thou- 
sands of  dollars,  but  which  now  paid  no  dividend, 
were  glad  to  barter  them  for  the  means  to  return 
to  their  friends  in  the  East. 

One  poor  fellow,  who  had  left  Charlie's  house 
with  full  pockets  and  a  light  heart,  returned  at 
night  asking  to  be  trusted  for  his  board  until  he 
could  earn  the  means  of  paving  it.  He  had  met 
with  sharpers,  while  waiting  for  the  cars,  who  had 
found  means  to  fleece  him  of  his  hard-earned  gains. 

In  a  short  time,  our  hero  had  accumulated  suffi- 
cient wealth  to  enable  him  to  spend  the  rest  of  his 
life  in  comparative  ease,  and  finding  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  sell  his  interest  in  the  hotel,  he  did 
so,  and  with  his  wife  returned  to  San  Francisco. 

He  had  invested  his  surplus  funds  with  the  most 
reliable  bankers  in  Virginia  City,  and  with  the 
money  obtained  from  the  sale  of  the  hotel  business 
he  built  a  handsome  residence  in  San  Francisco, 
where  he  and  Minnie  expected  to  spend  long  years 
in  happiness. 

This  beautiful  home  was  richly  furnished.  The 
library  contained  a  full  collection  of  books  and 


150     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

engravings,  and  upon  the  walls  might  be  seen  fine 
paintings  by  the  best  modern  artists — charming 
views  from  the  Yosemite  valley,  marine  views 
from  the  Atlantic,  and  one  sweet  little  basket  of 
flowers,  whose  half-open  buds  seemed  to  fill  the 
room  with  fragrance.  Minnie's  room  was  a  perfect 
bower  of  elegance  and  comfort ;  from  the  deep  bay 
window,  with  its  fine  lace  curtains  lined  with  red 
damask,  the  hanging-pot  with  trailing  vines,  and 
the  silver  cage  in  which  her  pet  canary  sang  its 
sweetest  songs,  to  the  tables  on  which  lay  the 
many  curiosities  which  she  had  gathered  during 
the  year  which  had  been  spent  in  the  mining 
districts. 

Adjoining  this  room,  and  connected  with  it  by 
folding  doors,  was  the  spacious  parlor,  which  was 
furnished  with  elegant  taste.  In  one  corner  stood 
a  large  piano,  upon  which  the  husband  often  played 
while  Minnie  mingled  her  voice  with  his  in  the  pop- 
ular songs  of  the  day;  and  here  they  gathered 
around  them  a  large  circle  of  admiring  friends, 
for  Charlie  soon  became  quite  a  leader  in  the  musi- 
cal circles  of  the  city. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      151 

One  year  of  nearly  perfect  happiness  had  passed 
away  since  they  entered  their  beautiful  home. 
Then  came  the  desire  for  change  and  variety  which 
comes  to  all  who  have  led  busy  lives  and  after- 
wards found  time  for  rest  and  ease. 

A  party  of  their  friends  proposed  a  visit  to  the 
most  noticeable  curiosities  of  the  Golden  State,  and 
Charlie,  wishing  to  visit  with  his  wife  some  of  those 
scenes  which  he  had  looked  upon  in  his  boyhood, 
joined  them.  His  mother  still  lived  in  the  little 
cottage  where  he  had  £rst  made  a  home  for  her, 
and  at  his  request  she  closed  her  quiet  home  and 
took  charge  of  his  more  pretentious  dwelling. 
They  spent  more  than  six  months  wandering  from 
one  scene  of  beauty  to  another.  Yisiting  the  won- 
derful geysers  by  a  stage  ride,  amid  beautiful  moun- 
tain scenery;  here  the  ground  literally  boiled  and 
bubbled  under  foot.  There  were  devil's  inkstands, 
caldrons,  teakettles  and  whistles  enough  to  satisfy 
any  one  in  a  short  space  of  time.  Then,  by  a  stage 
drawn  by  six  handsome  horses,  they  ascended  the 
long  mountain  roads,  stopping  to  rest  at  a  hotel 
upon  the  summit,  where  they  witnessed  the  most 


152     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

glorious  sunset  and  sunrise  scenes,  and  saw  the 
great  valleys,  and  the  bay  spread  out  before 
them. 

They  wandered  through  the  Petrified  Forest, 
visited  the  mud  baths  at  Paso  Eobbs,  and  spent 
days  and  weeks  at  some  of  the  most  famous  water- 
ing places  in  the  State. 

After  crossing  a  succession  of  low  hills  covered 
with  oaks  our  party  ascended  Mt.  Diablo,  where 
they  remained  all  night  and  listened  to  the  Indian 
legend  which  tells  us  that  the  country  west  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  was  once  covered  with 
water,  and  the  top  of  this  mountain  was  then  a 
little  island.  At  this  period,  says  the  legend,  the 
devil  was  there  imprisoned  by  the  waters  for  a 
long  time,  and  therefore  great  prosperity  and  quiet 
resulted  to  mankind,  which  caused  his  name  to  be 
given  to  the  mountain. 

Seeking  the  Yosemite  Valley  they  visited  the 
Bridal  Tail  .Falls,  Cathedral  Kocks  and  Three 
Brothers,  pausing  to  rest  at  the  various  hotels  and 
ranches  where  travelers  were  entertained. 

Minnie   enjoyed  these   travels,    and   was   never 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.   153 

tired  of  listening  to  the  falling  water  or  gazing  at 
the  high  towering  cliffs. 

They  lingered  in  the  valley  to  visit  the  South 
Dome,  the  Clouds'  Eest  and  the  foot  of  the  Upper 
Yosemite,  taking  in  the  gradually  growing  wonders 
of  the  place.  To  Minnie,  who  had  lived  almost 
wholly  in  the  city,  the  life  at  the  ranche  possessed 
almost,  as  much  interest  as  the  beautiful  scenes 
through  which  they  were  passing ;  the  waving  fields 
of  grain,  the  orchards  loaded  with  fruit,  and  the 
many  vineyards  where  grape  raising  was  brought  to 
the  highest  perfection.  They  examined  Bower's 
Cave,  which  they  found  to  be  an  immense  and  pic- 
turesque crack  or  sink  in  the  solid  limestone  of  the 
mountain  top,  into  which  one  might  descend  to  an 
irregular  bottom,  about  a  hundred  feet  square,  and 
in  a  corner  of  which  is  a  small  and  beautiful  lake. 
They  then  passed  on  to  the  groves  of  mammoth 
trees,  where  they  saw  one,  the  prostrate  trunk  of 
which  was  hollow  for  three  hundred  feet  and 
large  enough  to  admit  two  horsemen  abreast,  with 
an  opening  in  its  side  large  enough  for  one  to  pass 
out  at  a  time.  There  were  trees  standing  that 


154     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

were  said  to  be  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three 
hundred  feet  high. 

They  visited  the  Natural  Bridges  which  Charlie 
had  passed  in  his  journey  to  the  mining  camp  by 
the  river.  They  found  the  place  much  improved, 
and  a  cabin  at  the  entrance  ready  for  the  weary 
traveler  to  eat  his  luncheon  and  rest,  while  an 
entertaining  old  gentleman  told  them  how  he  came 
to  live  here,  all  about  the  bridges  and  the  forma- 
tions, which  he  had  watched,  etc.,  and  furnished 
torches  with  which  to  explore  the  spot. 

Minnie  and  Charlie  listened  with  awe  and  won- 
derment while  the  old  man  pointed  out  rocks  on 
which  he  had  watched  the  crystallizing  substance 
forming  for  twenty  years,  and  in  this  long  time 
only  a  thin  coating  had  been  obtained,  and  Charlie 
found  himself  attempting  to  make  a  computation 
of  how  long  these  bridges  might  have  been  forming, 
from  the  substance  formed  each  year,  but  he 
stopped  appalled,  for  his  calculations  led  him  back 
over  three  million  years.  The  old  man  told  of  a 
time  when  he  had  mined  under  these  bridges  and 
killed  deer  in  these  parts. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      155 

After  feasting  their  eyes  on  these  scenes  as  long 
as  they  wished  they  departed  to  visit  other  scenes,, 
ending  their  travels  at  the  beautiful  Lake  Tahoe, 
whose  placid  clear  surface  reflected  the  snow-capped 
summits  of  the  surrounding  mountains.  Speckled 
trout  gliding  through  the  water  were  visible,  and 
the  pebbles  on  the  slanting  bottom  near  the  shore 
could  be  plainly  seen  at  the  depth  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet. 

Leaving  this  beautiful  scene  they  were  descend- 
ing the  steep  mountain  road  in  a  stage  coach  when 
an  accident  occurred  which  came  near  proving 
fatal  to  some  of  the  party  on  the  spot,  and  did 
cause  the  death  of  others  not  long  after.  When 
near  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  just  as  they  had 
reached  a  sharp  turn  in  the  road,  the  driver,  who 
had  been  drinking,  carelessly  allowed  his  reins  to- 
drop  from  his  hand,  and  they  becoming  entangled 
with  the  horses  feet  caused  them  to  stumble, 
and  the  stage  was  overturned.  All  the  passengers- 
were  badly  bruised,  and  one  man  had  his  arm 
broken. 

Fortunately  the  stage  itself  was  not  much  injured,, 


156     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

and  after  a  short  delay  the  travelers  were  able  to 
proceed  on  their  journey.  Half  an  hour  later  they 
reached  the  railroad  station,  where  the  man  whose 
arm  was  broken  found  a  surgeon  to  attend  his 
wounded  limb. 

Charlie  and  his  wife  hurried  forward  with  all 
possible  speed  towards  San  Francisco,  for  although 
Minnie  made  no  complaint,  it  was  evident  that  she 
was  suffering  from  the  effects  of  the  accident. 

The  third  day  after  their  arrival  at  their  own 
home,  Minnie  gave  birth  to  a  little  blue-eyed  daugh- 
ter; but  ere  the  sun  had  set,  both  the  mother  and 
child  were  sleeping  the  silent  sleep  of  death,  and  in 
the  grand  parlor,  where  his  treasures  lay  so  white  and 
still,  the  bereaved  husband  sat  with  bowed  head, 
and  heart  full  of  anguish,  questioning,  "  Why  could 
not  I  have  been  taken  also?  " 

In  this  hour  of  sorrow  he  felt  that  the  world  had 
nothing  left  for  him.  It  mattered  not  that  the 
summer  scene  was  bright  with  beauty,  that  the 
birds  in  the  branches  of  the  maples  sang  their 
sweetest  songs,  that  his  note  on  his  banker  would 
IDC  honored  for  a  large  amount,  or  that  his  mining 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      157 

stocks  were  paying  heavy  dividends ;  all,  all  were 
as  nothing  compared  with  the  treasures  he  had 
just  been  deprived  of. 

The  funeral  was  over — the  mother  and  child  had 
both  been  laid  in  one  grave,  and  the  bereaved 
husband  seemed  buried  in  an  apathy  of  grief; 
his  old  pursuits  and  pleasures  were  forgotten; 
everything  reminded  him  of  his  lost  wife ;  and 
the  days  and  weeks  were  passed  in  silently  pacing 
his  chamber  floor,  or  setting  with  his  head  buried 
in  his  hands,  recalling  every  look  and  tone  of  the 
lost  one.  All  the  efforts  of  his  mother  and  friends 
to  arouse  him  from  his  grief  were  unavailing. 

Nearly  three  months  had  passed  away  in  this 
manner  when  one  morning  Mr.  Rexford  startled 
them  all  by  reading  from  the  "  Chronicle  "  of  the 
heavy  failure  of  Floyd  &  Bullion,  bankers,  of  Vir- 
ginia City.  Nearly  all  of  Charlie's  fortune  was 
invested  with  this  house,  except  what  he  had  in 
mining  stocks,  and  another  reference  to  the  morn- 
ing paper  told  that  these  were  decreasing  in  value 
rapidly. 

Our  hero  was  becoming  a  poor  man  again  ;  but 


158      THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

our  afflictions  are  sometimes  blessings  in  disguise, 
and  the  loss  of  his  wealth  proved  effectual  in  arous- 
ing Charlie  from  his  lethargy  of  grief. 

The  gold  and  silver  mines  of  Arizona  and  Mex- 
ico were  at  this  time  attracting  considerable  atten- 
tion. Several  attempts  had  been  made  to  work 
the  mines  in  Arizona  previously,  but  the  aggres- 
sions of  the  Apache  Indians,  and  the  lack  of  means 
of  transportation,  had  caused  most  of  the  pioneers 
to  become  discouraged  and  abandon  the  enterprise ; 
but  at  this  time  the  power  of  the  Apaches  had  been 
broken  by  General  Crook  and  the  Indians  confined 
to  their  reservations,  while  the  means  of  transpor- 
tation were  being  constantly  improved,  so  Charlie 
made  up  his  mind  to  try  in  this  new  field  to 
retrieve  his  shattered  fortune. 

His  mother  felt  unwilling  to  have  her  son  leave 
her  for  this  new  and  somewha  t  dangerous  region  ; 
but  she  knew  that  a  life  of  activity  and  excitement 
would  help  to  draw  his  mind  from  his  great  sorrow, 
so  she  did  not  try  to  dissuade  him  from  his  pur- 
pose. 

The  splendid  mansion  where  he  had  been  so 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      159 

happy  with  his  wife,  and  which  now  brought  her 
so  constantly  before  him,  was  sold  to  his  step- 
father, and  the  few  treasures  that  he  wished  to 
keep  he  left  in  his  mother's  care. 


CHAPTEE    XL 


'  Light  came  from  darkness,  gladness  from  despair, 
As,  when  the  sunlight  fadeth  from  the  earth, 
Star  after  star  comes  out  upon  the  sky, 
And  shining  worlds,  that  had  not  been  revealed 
In  day's  full  light,  are  then  made  manifest." 


S  OUR  hero  took  his  place  once  more 
in  the  busy  ranks  of  life,  his  sorrow 
assumed  a  more  subdued  tone,  and 
he  found  a  melancholy  pleasure  in 
imagining  his  lost  wife  ever  near 
him,  guiding  his  thoughts  and  prompting  him  to 
aspirations  after  a  higher  life. 

Some  lives  seem  full  of  hardship  and  trial,  but 
each  bitter  lesson,  if  used  aright,  has  its  purpose 
in  forming  our  character  or  stimulating  us  to  higher 
achievements. 

At  the  end  of  three  weeks  Charlie's  preparations 
were  all  made,  and  he  left  the  city  by  the  Southern 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      161 

Pacific  route  and  crossed  the  Sandy  Desert  of  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  saw  multitudes  of  "  desert  palm," 
a  green  tree  or  plant  growing  from  six  to  twenty- 
five  feet  high,  with  leaves  green  and  thick,  which 
are  used  for  making  paper.  This  tree  is  said  to 
bear  a  seed  similar  to  the  fruit  of  the  banana. 
There  were  many  other  species  of  trees  and  millions 
of  cactus  plants  in  tree  and  bush  height,  while  for 
miles  and  miles  it  was  sand,  sand,  sometimes 
drifted  up  in  heaps,  that  looked  like  snow-banks 
glistening  in  the  sun. 

He  reached  Yuma  after  traveling  over  750  miles 
by  rail,  and  was  not  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  wait  two 
days  for  [the  steamer  by  which  he  was  to  continue 
his  journey  up  through  the  grand  canons  of  the 
Colorado. 

At  the  hotel  at  which  he  stopped  he  became 
acquainted  with  a  gentleman  from  the  States,  who 
was,  like  himself,  seeking  the  mining  regions,  and 
the  two  soon  became  firm  friends.  Passing  up  the 
Colorado  they  were  interested  in  the  landscape  on 
both  sides  of  the  river,  and  spent  a  great  deal  of 
their  time  in  examining,  through  the  captain's 


162     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

field  glasses,  the  curious  cactus  plants  along  the 
shore. 

One  large  species,  called  the  Suarra,  was  from 
twenty-five  to  fifty  feet  high,  full  of  sharp,  green 
thorns,  and  looked  like  a  log  set  up  endways  in 
the  ground.  Some  of  these  had  a  few  branches 
extending  from  their  ugly  stalks,  but  they  were 
nearly  all  single  shafts. 

The  "Petayas,"  which  were  in  bloom,  had  flow- 
ers of  the  most  brilliant  pink  and  magenta  tints, 
and  the  captain  told  them  that  this  species  bears  a 
very  palatable  fruit,  which  is  pear-shaped,  of  a 
pink  color,  and  considered  a  great  delicacy  by  both 
the  Indians  and  whites.  Then  there  was  the  nigger- 
head,  or  water  cactus,  clinging  to  the  side  of  the 
rocks,  and  resembling  what  the  ladies  in  the  East- 
ern States  raise  in  their  flower-pots  and  call  Turk's 
Head,  only  much  larger.  These,  they  were  told, 
contained  from  four  to  five  quarts  of  watery  fluid, 
which  is  often  very  acceptable  to  the  thirsty  trav- 
eler when  no  other  water  can  be  had. 

The  settlements  along  the  river  were  mostly  of 
Indians.  They  were  very  industrious,  and  cut  and 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      163 

sold  wood  to  the  steamer.  The  kind-hearted  captain 
had  taught  them  to  use  the  axe,  and  bought  their 
wood,  taking  ten  cords  at  a  time,  at  two  dollars  per 
cord.  They  also  cultivated  small  farms,  and  their 
wheat,  planted  in  hills,  showed  large  heads  and 
stalks,  while  in  some  places  squashes  and  melons 
were  large  and  plenty.  The  flora  and  fauna  of  this 
far-off  country  was  a  study  in  itself,  and  Charlie 
counted  ten  different  varieties  of  cactus,  every  one 
covered  with  sharp,  green  thorns. 

On  reaching  the  height  of  steamboat  navigation 
our  hero  and  his  friend  struck  out  across  the  coun- 
try on  foot,  the  mining  region  which  they  were 
looking  for  being  forty  miles  distant,  and  there 
was  no  public  conveyance,  the  mails  being  carried 
to  the  interior  on  mule-back. 

The  Indians  had  so  long  held  the  prospector  in 
a  state  of  fear,  and  so  many  unfortunate  individ- 
uals had  lost  their  lives,  that  the  very  name  of 
Apache  had  become  a  synonym  of  terror  and 
-cruelty,  and  our  travelers  received  a  great  many 
hints  that  they  were  about  to  start  on  a  very  danger- 
ous journey;  but  they  were  well  armed,  and  Charlie 


164     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

at  least  felt  no  fear,  for  he  had  all  his  life  been 
accustomed  to  danger  and  privation. 

They  were  not  molested  during  their  journey, 
and  found  considerable  pleasure  in  examining  the 
"Auchoyas,"  which  were  two  distinct  species  of 
cactus  common  to  the  country,  and  in  listening  to 
the  stories  about  the  ' '  Koad-Kunner, "  a  bird 
about  the  size  of  the  partridge,  of  a  bluish-gray 
color  with  speckled  wings,  which  were  told  them 
at  the  small  adobe  house  where  they  stopped  to 
obtain  refreshment  and  rest. 

It  was  said  that  these  birds  were  determined  and 
aggressive  enemies  of  the  rattlesnake,  and  that 
they  would  search  diligently  for  the  snake,  and, 
when  found,  commence  their  attacks  by  flying  or 
hopping  around  it  until  the  enemy  was  rendered 
dizzy  by  their  circling  motions  ;  then,  by  an  instinct 
purely  their  own,  they  pounce  down,  striking  the 
snake  directly  on  the  top  of  the  head  with  their 
beak,  killing  him  instantly.  They  also  have 
another  very  novel  plan,  which  is  to  collect  the 
broken  branches  of  the  auchoya  and  lay  them 
quietly  around  a  sleeping  snake  in  piles,  and  when 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      165 

their  enemy  is  fully  surrounded  they  drop  one  of 
these  needle-pointed  thorn  stems  on  their  vic- 
tim's head,  rousing  him  from  his  slumbers  with  a 
terrible  squirm,  and  by  this  device  entangling  him 
in  a  nest  of  the  sharpest  thorns.  Hovering  around 
their  helpless  victim  they  watch  his  struggles,  and 
if  the  thorns  do  not  finish  him,  a  blow  on  the  head 
from  their  long  sharp  bills  completes  the  work. 
After  the  snake  is  killed  the  bird  eats  a  portion  of 
it  and  then  strolls  off  at  a  fast  walk  to  find  some 
other  pastime. 

The  country  lying  between  the  Colorado  Eiver 
and  the  Peacock  Mountains  is  crossed  by  different 
ranges,  and  some  of  these  are  divided  by  broad 
valleys.  The  mineral-bearing  mountains  are  the 
second  range  from  the  river,  and  are  a  branch  from 
the  Cordillers.  Here  our  travelers  found  a  small 
village  in  a  very  rough  state  of  civilization.  It 
contained  a  post-office,  and  one  store,  kept  by  a 
Jew,  who  retailed  a  few  of  the  necessaries  of  life 
at  enormous  prices,  and  plenty  of  whisky.  The 
residents  were  half-breeds,  Indians,  Chinese  and  a 
few  Americans.  But  it  furnished  a  stopping-place 


166     THE  CABEER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHAELIE. 

at  which  our  travelers  could  obtain  coarse  food  and 
shelter  at  the  rate  of  ten  dollars  per  week,  while 
they  took  a  view  of  the  country  and  found  a  place 
to  locate  themselves. 

Charlie  wrote  often  to  his  mother,  and  she  felt 
pleased  to  read  the  cheery  tone  of  his  letters,  for  it 
told  her  that  he  had  in  a  measure  forgot  his  absorb- 
ing grief  in  the  new  scenes  by  which  he  was  sur- 
rounded. 

Having  been  acquainted  with  mining  from  his 
boyhood,  he  found  no  trouble  in  securing  some 
very  rich  mines,  but  their  distance  from  the  lines 
of  transportation  made  the  cost  of  working  them 
very  heavy,  and  he  missed  the  refinements  of  civil- 
ization to  which  he  had  for  some  time  been  accus- 
tomed, while  the  constant  diet  of  bacon,  beans  and 
coffee,  without  any  other  vegetable  or  fruit,  seemed 
almost  like  starvation  to  one  who  had  enjoyed  the 
many  luxuries  to  be  obtained  in  San  Francisco. 

The  mines  which  Charlie  and  his  friend  had 
located  were  situated  about  eight  miles  beyond  the 
village  in  which  they  found  an  abiding  place,  and 
a  fine  spring  furnished  them  with  water  for  all 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      167 

needful  purposes.  The  two  men  soon  decided 
that  it  was  useless  to  undertake  to  work  the  mines 
without  machinery  of  their  own,  and  they  at  last 
determined  that  Mr.  Smithson  (this  was  his  friend's 
name)  should  go  East  and  try  to  raise  a  company 
of  capitalists  to  work  this  grand  area  of  mineral 
wealth. 

During  the  absence  of  Mr.  Smithson,  Charlie 
spent  his  time  prospecting  and  laying  plans  for 
the  future.  He  had  removed  to  another  town  or 
village  in  order  to  be  nearer  the  mines.  This  place 
he  found  had  once  been  a  thriving  village,  but 
owing  to  the  high  prices  of  provisions  and  the 
hardships  of  frontier  life  it  was  now  almost  deserted, 
but  it  still  contained  a  post-office  and  a  few  very 
fine  American  families.  In  one  corner  there  was  a 
burial-place  which  contained  fifteen  graves,  many 
of  whom  had  died  violent  deaths  from  causes  pro- 
duced by  the  common  practice  of  drinking  whisky. 
Charlie  soon  became  quite  a  favorite  among  the 
better  class  of  people  in  the  village,  and  quiltings, 
surprise  parties,  dinners  and  musical  entertain- 
ments filled  up  the  long  winter  evenings  and  helped 


168     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

to  make  the  time  pass  pleasantly  while  waiting  for 
his  partner's  return. 

In  a  few  months  Mr.  Smithson  returned,  having 
been  very  successful  in  forming  a  company  to  work 
the  mines,  and  bringing  with  him  a  large  quantity 
of  provisions,  which  helped  to  make  their  life 
more  endurable. 

Active  preparations  were  now  commenced ;  the 
site  of  a  new  city  or  town  was  laid  out  and  a  com- 
pany of  miners  set  to  work  to  get  out  the  mineral 
ready  to  be  turned  into  bullion  by  the  twenty  stamp 
mill,  which  was  expected  to  arrive  in  course  of  a 
few  months. 

A  stone  house  was  soon  in  process  of  construc- 
tion to  accommodate  Charlie  and  his  partner,  with 
such  of  their  company  as  they  would  have  to  find 
homes  for. 

******         *         * 

Situated  in  a  canon  among  the  high  mountains, 
near  which  Charlie's  company  had  located  their  new 
city,  was  a  small  collection  of  adobe  houses  styled 
a  town,  and  this  contained  the  post-office  at  which 
Charlie  was  wont  to  receive  his  letters.  Among 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      169 

the  residents  of  this  village  was  a  man  whom  we 
will  call  Leech  vein.  This  man  was  a  fugitive  from 
justice,  and  possessed  a  very  sullen  and  morose 
disposition.  He  was  both  disliked  and  feared  by 
the  better  class  of  the  neighborhood,  but  he  man- 
aged to  draw  around  him  the  thieves  and  gamblers 
from  quite  a  distance,  and  these  " roughs"  often 
helped  him  to  do  considerable  mischief  in  return 
for  the  bad  whisky  with  which  he  paid  them. 

In  the  same  village  lived  Henry  Palmback,  whose 
only  son  had  fallen  a  victim  to  Leech  vein's  wiles, 
and  had  been  killed  in  a  drunken  fight  many  years 
before  Charlie  came  to  the  neighborhood.  This 
man  had  conceived  a  great  liking  for  our  hero,  and 
he  was  noted  for  being  a  warm  friend  or  bitter 
enemy. 

One  day,  just  as  the  slanting  rays  of  the  setting 
sun  were  reflected  on  the  sloping  sides  of  the  rocky 
hills  which  surrounded  the  little  town,  Charlie 
reached  the  post-office,  keenly  anxious  for  letters 
from  his  mother  and  John.  He  had  not  been  able 
to  leave  his  work  at  an  earlier  hour,  and  he  waited 
until  it  was  quite  dark,  but  no  mail  appeared ;  and 


170  THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

very  much  disappointed  he  was  walking  homeward 
at  a  brisk  pace  when  just  as  he  had  arrived  in 
front  of  Leechvein's  dwelling  the  door  opened  and 
a  stream  of  light  penetrated  the  darkness  while  a 
voice  exclaimed  in  oily  tones : 

' '  Stop  a  moment,  Mr.  Burton !  Come  in  and 
take  a  drink ;  it  will  give  you  courage  to  travel  this 
lonely  mountain  path." 

"  No,  I  thank  you.  I  do  not  drink  unless  I  need 
it,  and  then  only  water." 

" Humph!  so  you  feel  above  us  miners,  don't 
you  ?  May  be  you  will  be  compelled  to  do  as  I  say 
about  it!"  advancing  towards  our  hero  with  a 
scowling  visage  and  a  volley  of  oaths. 

Charlie  did  not  remain  to  hear  any  more,  but 
kept  on  his  way  with  hasty  footsteps,  for  he  did 
not  wish  to  be  drawn  into  a  drunken  row. 

Just  at  this  moment  a  voice  sounded  in  the  dark- 
ness— "Wait  up  a  bit,  Charlie."  He  halted,  for 
he  at  once  recognized  the  voice  of  his  friend  Palm- 
back. 

"What's  the  row  down  to  old  Leeches?"  he 
inquired ;  whereupon  Charlie  told  him  the  story  of 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      171 

his  encounter  with  the  proprietor  of  the  whisky 
den. 

"He  is  after  you,  my  boy,  and  you  had  bet- 
ter not  travel  this  path  alone.  I  have  been  out 
looking  for  my  horses  in  the  ravine,  and  so  am  late 
myself;  but  there  is  no  end  to  the  mischief  Leech- 
vein  and  his  <  Peons '  (slaves)  manage  to  accomplish 
after  dark,  and  then  it  is  all  laid  to  the  Indians." 

They  had  reached  Palmback's  house  and  he 
had  invited  our  hero  to  remain  with  him  all  night, 
which  he  did,  and  found  him  to  be  a  most  agree- 
able host. 

In  the  morning  Charlie  spoke  of  returning  to- 
the  post-office  to  see  if  the  mail  had  arrived,  and 
Palmback  offered  to  accompany  him,  saying  that 
he  had  business  that  way. 

They  reached  the  post-office,  where  Charlie  found 
his  long-delayed  letters,  and  as  they  were  return- 
ing Leechvein  came  out  and  followed  them,  shaking 
his  fists  and  calling  Charlie  vile  names.  Palmback 
stepped  to  the  rear  and  dealt  the  villain  a  stunning 
blow,  which  felled  him  to  the  ground,  where  they 
left  him  to  reflect,  as  Palmback  termed  it. 


172     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

The  next  day  a  fountain  or  spring,  at  which  sev- 
eral neighboring  families  drew  their  water,  was 
stopped  up  and  claimed  by  Leechvein  as  his  prop- 
erty. He  said  he  should  only  permit  his  friends  to 
draw  water  there. 

Palmback  was  obliged  to  use  this  fountain,  and 
he  immediately  tore  down  all  the  obstructions  and 
obtained  the  water  iust  as  he  had  done  before.  To 
the  surprise  of  all  his  enemy  made  no  attempt  to 
stop  him,  but  Palmback  felt  sure  he  was  studying 
up  some  new  mischief,  and  he  caused  a  close  watch 
to  be  kept  upon  his  enemy's  movements. 

An  Indian  whom  he  had  in  his  employ  soon 
informed  him  that  an  impromptu  breastworks  had 
been  thrown  up  in  a  path  which  he  often  traversed 
in  going  to  and  from  some  "  pockets  "  which  he  was 
working  in  the  mountain.  He  said  the  work  looked 
like  Indians,  and  there  were  moccasin  tracks  around 
the  spot,  but  he  knew  that  Leechvein  had  been  out 
prospecting  and  had  worn  moccasins. 

The  next  night  would  be  moonlight,  and  Palm- 
back,  who  was  of  a  venturesome  disposition, 
resolved  to  try  the  nature  of  the  mountain  fort. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

He  took  particular  pains  to  have  it  known  in  the 
village  that  he  was  going  over  the  mountains  to 
return  a  borrowed  horse.  Just  at  nightfall  he 
passed  through  the  village  mounted  on  one  horse 
and  leading  another.  Just  before  reaching  the 
supposed  ambuscade  he  arranged  a  straw  effigy  of 
himself,  upon  which  he  placed  his  own  hat  and 
coat,  and  this  figure  he  securely  tied  to  his  well- 
broke  horse,  which  he  started  at  a  slow  walk  past 
the  fort,  following  himself  at  a  safe  distance. 

The  straw  man  sat  erect  and  rode  straight  ahead. 
Bang,  bang,  went  a  double-barreled  shot-gun,  the 
bullets  striking  the  effigy  in  the  back  and  cutting 
the  cords  which  held  it  in  the  saddle,  while  the 
startled  horse  sprang  ahead,  shaking  the  supposed 
corpse  from  its  back,  and  with  a  snort  of  fear  strik- 
ing out  for  his  home.  Then  from  his  concealment 
sprang  the  would-be  murderer  to  gloat  over  his 
fallen  foe,  but  at  this  moment,  bang  went  three 
shots  from  the  revolver  of  the  straw  man's  spirit, 
and  Leechvein  .was  past  doing  any  more  injury. 

Palmback  straightened  out  his  body  and  folded 
his  hands  across  his  breast,  then  he  mounted  his 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

remaining  horse,  which  had  been  hitched  in  the 
ravine,  and  rode  homeward,  leaving  his  straw 
effigy  to  be  seen  by  the  first  investigator. 

The  next  day  the  missing  whisky  dealer  could 
not  be  found,  and  Palmback  notified  the  authorities 
that  he  had  been  fired  upon  from  the  cliff,  and  that 
he  had  shot  the  person  who  fired  upon  him.  They 
repaired  to  the  spot  and  there  found  Leech  vein's 
body  stiff  and  cold. 

Palmback  was  acquitted  on  the  plea  of  self- 
defense,  and  most  of  the  neighbors  were  glad  to  be 
rid  of  one  who  had  gained  his  living  by  preying 
upon  others. 


CHAPTEK    XII. 


1  Wait  thou  for  Time,  but  to  thy  heart  take  Faith, 
Soft  beacon-light  upon  a  stormy  sea : 
A  mantle  for  the  pare  in  heart,  to  pass 
Through  a  dim  world,  untouched  by  living  death, 
A  cheerful  -watcher  through  the  spirit's  night, 
Soothing  the  grief  from  which  she  may  not  flee— 
A  herald  of  glad  news — a  seraph  bright, 
Pointing  to  sheltering  havens  yet  to  be." 

—Miss  LUCY  HOOPER. 

FEW  weeks  after  the  tragedy  in 
the  village,  which  had  seemed  to 
grow  out  of  Charlie's  refusal  to 
drink,  but  which  was  really  the  end 
of  years  of  vengeful  feeling  treas- 
ured in  the  heart  of  Palmback  toward  one  who 
had  been  the  means  of  causing  the  death  of  his 
only  son,  Charlie  received  the  news  that  his  step- 
father had  failed  in  business,  and  lost  everything 
except  the  handsome  residence  where  Charlie  had 
lived  so  happily  one  short  year;  and  this  letter 
was  soon  followed  by  another,  which  told  that  the 


176      THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

old  man  had  sunk  under  his  misfortunes,  the 
trouble  having  produced  brain  fever ;  and  his 
mother  was  again  a  widow. 

He  immediately  wrote  to  her,  that  when  he 
could  make  a  comfortable  home  for  her  in  this- 
new  region  he  would  come  and  bring  her  to  it, 
and  that  meanwhile  he  would  supply  her  with  suffi- 
cient means  to  keep  her  comfortable.  He  had 
now  an  object  to  spur  him  on  besides  his  mere 
personal  interests.  He  was  determined  to  fulfill 
the  promise  he  had  made  his  mother — "  That  her 
last  days  should  be  her  best  days." 

The  engrossing  duties  of  his  business  soon 
drove  away  all  sadness  from  his  mind,  and  he 
became  the  life  of  the  new  circle  of  friends  which 
he  found  himself  amongst,  while  the  brilliant  pros- 
pects before  him  filled  his  heart  with  bright  hopes 
for  the  future. 

The  Indians  were  quite  plenty  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  they  would  often  come  around  and  beg 
for  something  to  eat,  for  they  are  always  hungry, 
and  consider  the  "Hic&oes"  (white  men)  are  sent 
on  purpose  to  feed  them.  For  a  good  dinner  they 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      1T7 

will  gather  wood,  cut  it,  carry  water,  and  run  on 
errands.  Begging  is  one  of  their  long-established 
customs.  They  do  not  steal,  if  they  think  they  are 
liable  to  be  found  out.  In  this  virtue  they  resemble 
their  white  brethren.  By  the  laws  of  their  tribe, 
stealing  is  punished  by  death. 

One  of  the  villagers  stole  a  buffalo-robe  that  an 
Indian  had  hid  in  a  cave — cashed,  he  called  it.  On 
discovering  the  offender  he  immediately  raised  his 
rifle  to  shoot  him,  but  was  prevented  and  taken 
before  the  court.  He  testified  that  his  people 
always  killed  a  man  that  stole ;  and  he  could  not 
be  pacified  until  he  was  promised  that  the  bad 
man  should  be  banished. 

They  are  very  anxious  to  convince  the  Hickoes 
that  they  do  not  lie ;  and  as  a  general  thing  they 
keep  their  promises. 

In  the  new  store-house  were  gathered  Mr. 
Smithson  and  our  hero,  with  four  men  who  were 
employed  at  the  mines,  and  an  Indian  whom  Char- 
lie had  taken  into  his  employment.  This  Indian 
he  found  very  useful  as  an  assistant  in  the  kitchen, 
for  he  was  for  many  months  his  own  housekeeper, 


178      THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

and  he  also  served  him  as  a  guide  in  the  journeys 
through  the  country,  which  his  business  often 
caused  him  to  make,  sometimes  on  foot  and  some- 
times in  the  four-mule  team  which  his  company 
had  sent  for  his  use. 

This  Indian  was  well  versed  in  the  legends  and 
manners  of  the  country,  and  often  made  their 
lonely  rides  or  walks  interesting  by  the  tales  of 
the  adventures  and  sufferings  of  the  early  pioneers, 
and  the  habits  and  legends  of  his  own  tribe,  which 
he  told  in  short  sentences  and  broken  English 

During  the  forty  miles  ride  between  the  river 
shore  and  the  new  city  the  country  was  very  dry 
and  parched,  and  the  tall  mountains,  which  had 
stood  in  the  burning  sun  for  ages,  presented  a 
dark  and  forbidding  aspect,  calling  forth  tales  of 
men  who,  in  prospecting  in  this  barren  region,  had 
been  unable  to  find  water,  and  had  gone  mad,  and 
died  in  three  days  from  thirst. 

"But,"  the  Indian  added,  " Great  Spirit  good. 
Tell  his  own  children  where  to  find  water." 

Then  he  pointed  out  the  paths  or  trails  which 
led  to  the  natural  tanks  or  reservoirs,  which  have 


/THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      179 

been  formed  in  the  solid  rock  by  the  wear  of 
streams  of  water  running  into  it. 

Here  the  all-wise  Creator  has  caused  these  nat- 
ural cisterns  to  be  formed  and  filled  by  the  heavy 
rains,  and  they  hold  a  sufficient  quantity  to  supply 
the  place  of  springs  and  streams  when  no  rain 
falls. 

The  Indians  are  familiar  with  these  tanks,  and 
they  utilize  the  localities  as  hunting-grounds  for 

deer,    quails   and    other  animals   which  frequent 

« 
them  to  quench  their  thirst. 

This  tribe — the  Mohaves — have  a  legend  that 
the  Hickoes  were  formerly  a  part  of  the  same 
great  tribe  to  which  their  forefathers  belonged ;  but 
.  for  disobeying  the  commands  of  the  great  chief 
who  ruled  them,  they  were  banished  beyond  the 
sea,  from  which  they  have  since  been  permitted 
to  return  to  feed  and  care  for  their  copper-colored 
brethren. 

They  do  not  seem  to  be  overburdened  with  self- 
esteem;  but  are  servants,  and  as  such  are  quite 
willing  to  remain. 

In  their  prospecting  tours  they  often  came  upon 


180     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.. 

Aztec  ruins,  which  the  Mohave  said  belonged  to 
a  race  who  were  neither  Hickoes  or  Mexicans,  but 
Indians  with  white  hair,  who  came  originally  from 
the  "  spirit  land." 

Among  these  ruins  were  found  pieces  of  colored 
pottery,  still  retaining  a  gloss  and  perfection  of 
polish  that  attested  the  superiority  of  the  manufac- 
turers over  the  natives  of  the  present  day;  and 
the  broken  ruins  of  dwellings,  three,  four,  and  even 
five  stories  high,  well-built  and  planned  with  arch- 
itectural skill,  still  remain  to  tell  the  story  of  a 
superior  people. 

In  the  partly  worked  mines,  stone  hammers, 
picks  and  rudely  constructed  mining  tools  were 
found,  which  the  Indian  claimed  were  left  by  the 
white-haired  or  spirit  Indians  of  former  days. 

The  wonders  of  a  strange  land  are  full  of 
interest  to  the  new-comer,  and  the  awe-inspiring 
grandeur  of  the  mountain  scenery,  when  looked 
upon  for  the  first  time,  is  delightful  to  behold ;  but 
to  the  miner,  who  has  constantly  such  scenes 
before  him,  they  lose  their  interest ;  his  mind 
becomes  absorbed  with  the  brilliant  hopes  leading 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      181 

him  on,  and  the  landscape,  which  once  seemed  so 
beautiful,  becomes  tame  and  unattractive ;  night 
finds  him  weary,  and  after  a  supper  of  beans 
and  bacon  he  soon  forgets  his  surroundings  and 
permits  sleep  to  lead  him  into  the  land  of  dreams. 

Every  strange  object  met  with  was  of  special 
interest  to  Charlie  and  Mr.  Smithson,  and  often 
formed  the  subject  of  conversation  when  these  two 
men  were  not  engaged  with  the  business  which 
brought  them  to  this  distant  region. 

The  other  four  men  found  more  pleasure  in 
discussing  the  particular  kind  of  rocks  on  which 
they  were  at  work,  and  how  far  this  or  that  par- 
ticular vein  of  gold  or  silver  was  supposed  to 
extend ;  and  they  sometimes  greeted  their  em- 
ployers with,  "Struck  it  rich,  to-day;"  and  then 
would  follow  accounts  of  the  rich  vein  of  Horn 
silver  which  had  been  found,  and  samples  of  the 
ore  would  be  produced  to  attest  the  truth  of  the 
statements.  These  samples  were  afterwards  for- 
warded to  the  company  in  the  East,  and  the  assay 
satisfied  them  that  their  agents  had  not  misrep- 
resented the  property. 


182     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

Sometimes  the  miners  spent  their  evenings 
in  growling  at  the  lack  of  good  company,  or  the 
plentitude  of  rattlesnakes  and  centipedes;  but 
none  of  them  received  any  injury  from  these 
troublesome  reptiles.  Charlie  spent  all  his  leisure 
in  writing  to  his  mother  and  John  Burton  ;  and 
every  letter  was  rich  in  descriptions  of  the  new 
country,  which  was  an  almost  unknown  region  to 
his  correspondents ;  and  in  return  he  received 
news  from  the  States  and  the  Pacific  Coast. 

He  had  formed  a  warm  friendship  with  one  of 
the  families  at  the  first  town  at  which  he  had 
tarried,  and  with  three  families  at  the  old  town  or 
village  nearest  to  them ;  and  when  the  stone-house 
was  finished  he  invited  these  friends  to  meet  him 
at  what  he  called  a  tea-party. 

This  meal,  which  was  planned,  cooked  and 
served  by  our  hero  alone,  we  will  describe.  The 
party  of  ten  sat  down  at  three  and  left  the  table  at 
half-past  four.  The  first  course  consisted  of,  chicken 
fricassee,  roast  beef  (a  la  mode),  with  squash, 
potatoes  and  pickles,  coffee,  tea,  hot  buns,  bread, 
butter,  and  honey.  The  second  course,  of  fruit 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHABLIE.      183 

cake,  jelly  cake,  caraway  cookies,  cheese,  canned 
blackberries,  peaches,  and  lemonade  made  from 
canned  lemon  sugar.  Third  course,  berry  pie, 
fresh  apples,  pears,  walnuts,  and  lemonade.  His 
neighbors  loaned  him  dishes;  and  the  ladies  of  the 
party  praised  each  course,  and  asked  for  receipts 
for  making  the  fruit  and  jelly  cake. 

The  young  ladies  helped  to  clear  away  the  table, 
and  wash  the  dishes ;  and  the  whole  company  had 
a  merry  time. 

Quartz  mining  is  usually  an  uncertain  undertaking 
and  is  sometimes  attended  with  heavy  losses  and  vex- 
atious disappointments.  The  miner,  in  looking  for 
a  quartz  vein  in  some  places  where  the  ledges  ap- 
pear above  ground,  digs  a  place  or  sinks  a  hole  beside 
the  ledge  of  rock,  and  examines  the  soil  around  it 
and  in  it.  Tests  it  sometimes  with  a  pan  and  water, 
or  by  crushing  a  little  of  the  rock  in  an  iron  mortar 
and  washing  it  in  a  pan  to  see  if  gold  will  settle. 

All  quartz  veins,  of  any  richness,  have  to  be  tun- 
neled into,  or  shafts  sunk,  to  get  below  the  surface ; 
this  requires  slow  and  costly  labor,  drilling,  blast- 
ing, and  hoisting  the  rocks  out  of  the  mines.  The 


184:     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

seam  or  ledge  of  gold  is  sometimes  very  narrow, 
and  large  quantities  of  rock  which  does  not  carry 
gold  has  to  be  displaced  before  that  which  does 
can  be  reached.  Much  labor  and  money  also  has 
been  wasted  in  tunneling  mines  that  produced  com- 
paratively nothing. 

"When  a  mine  is  found  that  will  pay  from  fifty  to 
eighty  dollars  per  ton  of  milling  ore  or  rock,  then 
mills  or  arrasters  are  erected  to  work  it.  Some 
mills  have  been  built  at  the  spot  where  quartz  has 
been  found,  and  after  a  short  time  abandoned, 
because  the  vein  had  run  out  and  no  more  mineral 
could  be  found.  The  safest  way  is  to  erect  arras- 
ters that  are  cheap,  and  by  this  plan  test  a  mine 
fully  before  building  a  mill.  Nearly  all  the  early 
mining  in  Arizona  was  done  in  this  manner ;  for  the 
cost  of  transportation  rendered  it  impossible  for 
any  but  wealthy  companies  to  import  an  expensive 
mill  to  the  spot. 

All  quartz  mills  are  run  by  steam  or  water,  and 
the  rock  to  be  crushed  is  shoveled  into  the  battery 
a  little  at  a  time,  and  this  battery,  or  stamps  as 
they  are  generally  called,  is  composed  of  heavy 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      185 

round  bars  of  iron,  twenty  feet  long  and  two  and  a 
half  to  three  inches  in  diameter,  with  solid,  heavy 
shoes  or  dies  at  the  bottom,  making  the  weight  of 
each  stamp  about  eight  hundred  pounds.  A  ten 
stamp  mill  has  ten  of  these  bars  arranged  side  by 
side,  about  one  foot  apart;  a  twenty  stamp  mill  has 
twenty,  and  so  on.  These  heavy  stamps  are  raised 
by  cams,  two  on  a  shaft,  and  as  the  stamps  set 
perpendicularly,  confined  to  pass  up  and  down — 
the  shaft  runs  horizontally,  and  each  cam  raises  the 
stamp  and  slips  off,  letting  the  stamp  fall  of  its 
own  weight  some  eighteen  inches.  The  cams  are 
placed  about  half  way  between  the  bottom  and  the 
top  of  the  stamps,  and  are  quite  close  to  the 
upright  bar.  A  device  for  the  cam  to  bear  against 
is  bolted  to  the  stamp  rod,  and  this  is  the  method 
of  raising.  The  sides  of  the  compartments  are  so 
arranged  as  to  keep  the  rock  rolling  under  the 
heavy  iron  shoes  at  the  bottom  of  the  stamps,  and 
the  rock,  which  is  powdered  almost  as  fine  as  flour, 
passes  out  by  the  force  of  the  stamps  through  a 
screen.  The  stamps  fall  quite  fast,  and  will  each 
crush  a  ton  per  day. 


186     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

This  dust  or  powder  passes  into  large  iron  tub- 
shaped  vessels,  two  and  a  half  feet  deep,  called 
amalgamating  pans  or  settlers ;  these  pans,  are 
of  different  sizes,  but  generally  four  and  a  half 
feet  in  diameter.  "Water  is  mixed  with  the  dust  or 
powder,  and  quicksilver  is  put  in  the  pans  or  tubs, 
while  stirring  machinery,  attached  to  these  fans, 
keep  the  dust  in  motion  so  as  to  collect  all  the 
gold  and  quicksilver  in  the  bottom  of  the  pans; 
and  the  slums,  which  is  called  trailings,  is  allowed 
to  run  off. 

The  quicksilver  is  called  amalgam,  because  it 
holds  all  the  gold  and  looks  like  quicksilver,  just 
the  same ;  this  is  now  taken  out  by  devices  to 
hold  it,  and  poured  into  a  heavy,  stout  canvas 
funnel-shaped  bag ;  then  the  straining  commences, 
which  is  separating  the  gold  from  the  quicksilver, 
by  squeezing  the  quicksilver  all  out  and  saving  it 
to  use  again ;  the  gold  is  left  in  the  bag. 

Eetorting  the  balance  of  the  quicksilver  that 
remains  is  the  next  process,  and,  when  acid  is  not 
used  to  bring  the  gold  to  its  yellow  color,  is  quite 
intricate  ;  this  is  done  by  confining  the  mass  in 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      1ST 

tight  iron  moulds  or  retorts,  and  putting  them  into 
a  very  hot  charcoal  fire,  when  the  rest  of  the 
quicksilver  passes  off  like  steam  and  condenses, 
again  for  use. 

Mining  alone,  and  separate  from  communities, 
was  somewhat  hazardous  in  this  region,  but  the 
risk  was  sometimes  taken,  as  the  murdered  bodies 
of  two  miners  attested,  which  were  found  alone  in 
the  mountains  where  they  had  been  working  a 
pocket  in  the  side  of  a  ledge. 

Sometimes  a  party  of  three  or  four  would  club 
together  for  protection  and  help,  and  all  work 
upon  the  same  claim  ;  but  even  these  would  some- 
times all  lose  their  lives. 

A  case  of  this  kind  came  to  Charlie's  knowl- 
edge, which  was  as  follows :  A  party  of  four  men 
had  clubbed  together  and  opened  a  shaft  in  a  mine 
about  thirteen  miles  from  the  new  city.  Three  of 
the  men  were  at  work  in  the  shaft,  which  was  sixty 
feet  in  depth,  and  one  was  at  the  windlass  hoisting ; 
their  rifles  were  at  the  top  of  the  shaft.  Suddenly 
the  man  at  the  windlass  was  surprised  by  a  dozen 
Indians  and  instantly  shot.  The  painted  savages- 


188     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE. 

then  rushed  up  and  rolled  down  rocks  upon  the 
helpless  victims  in  the  shaft,  killing  two  and 
breaking  the  arm  of  the  third ;  supposing  them 
all  dead,  the  savages  plundered  their  hut  and  left. 
Several  hours  after  the  injured  miner  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  top  of  the  shaft  and  hurried  away 
towards  the  nearest  town,  but.  he  had  only  gone 
three  miles  when  he  was  shot  dead  by  an  ambush 
of  the  savage  band. 

Such  were  the  perils  of  mining  in  Arizona  when 
undertaken  by  small  companies  in  remote  regions. 


CHAPTEE   XIII. 


"  Nothing  BO  small  that  God  has  made 

But  has  its  destined  end, 
All  in  their  turn  his  glory  serve, 
All  to  his  glory  tend. 

"  And  thus  the  humblest  of  us  all, 

God's  instruments  may  prove, 
To  bless  and  shed  o'er  fellow-men, 
The  bounty  of  his  love." 


T  TOOK  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  to 
locate  the  mines,  form  the  com- 
pany, and  get  the  proper  machinery 
transported  to  this  distant  locality; 
but  Charlie  worked  'with  untiring, 
zeal,  waiting  patiently  to  reap  the  harvest,  which 
always  follows  patient  and  concentrated  effort. 
The  time  came  at  last  when  he  stood  again  in  the 
broad  sunshine  of  prosperity.  The  early  horrors 
of  life  among  the  mines,  when  it  was  a  common 
thing  for  one  man  to  shoot  another  upon  the  slight- 
est provocation,  had  passed  away  before  the  march 


190     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

of  civilization ;  and  the  only  stain  which  still  lin- 
gered in  the  new  city,  was  the  many  whisky-shops 
which  nourished.  But  these  were  fast  becoming 
unpopular ;  for  the  Good  Templars  were  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  city ;  and  lectures,  readings,  and 
concerts  formed  the  chief  amusements. 

Alas !  that  any  could  be  found  who  would  per- 
mit themselves  to  become  slaves  to  a  demon,  who 
sooner  or  later  will  destroy  them.  The  victim, 
glorying  in  his  own  strength  of  mind,  dallies  with 
the  first  glass,  the  second,  and  the  third,  until  the 
•dreadful  appetite  is  formed,  and  the  strength  to 
resist  gone.  Then,  maddened  by  the  poison,  he 
becomes  a  murderer.  Sometimes  with  the  hasty 
blow  or  shot — often er  by  the  slow  torture,  poured 
-day  after  day  into  the  suffering  heart  of  a  wife,  a 
mother,  a  sister,  or  child. 

Silently  the  years  slipped  by— each  day  and 
liour  our  hero  was  being  fitted  for  the  duties  that 
were  to  come.  As  an  employer,  he  won  the  earn- 
est efforts  of  his  men;  for  he  was  always  resolute 
and  active,  and  a  most  genial  companion  in  social 
intercourse.  The  new  city,  of  which  he  helped  to 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      191 

lay  the  foundation,  felt  the  influence  of  his  exam- 
ple and  leadership  ;  and  many  refinements  of  social 
life  found  their  way  to  this  interior  locality  years 
in  advance  of  the  older  towns  near  the  river. 

As  the  resources  of  the  country  became  more 
widely  known  and  understood,  this  neighborhood 
was  found  to  contain  vast  fields  of  coal  and  forests 
of  timber,  waiting  to  be  called  into  use  by  the 
needs  of  the  future.  And  there  were  mountains 
of  salt,  clear  as  crystal,  from  which  cubes  of  this 
saline  substance  were  often  obtained  that  were  as 
transparent  as  glass ;  while  in  many  places  rock 
salt  of  excellent  quality  was  abundant.  Bancroft  Libra 

Charlie  now  found  time  to  examine  the  country 
more  leisurely;  and  a  little,  lively,  black-eyed 
lady  was  often  the  companion  of  his  journeys ;  for 
he  had  won,  for  his  wife,  the  postmaster's  daughter, 
of  the  little  adobe  town  among  the  mountains. 
They  took  canoe-rides  through  the  magnificent 
canons  of  the  upper  Colorado,  where  the  stream 
seemed  to  have  cut  its  bed  deeper  in  the  rocky 
formation,  until  walls  three  thousand  feet  in  height 
now  stood  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  Among  the 


192     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

mines  they  found  strata  of  sandstone,  in  which  were 
found  pieces  of  petrified  wood,  lizards  and  other 
substances ;  and  these  strata  contained  silver, 
assaying  from  three  to  five  hundred  dollars  per 
ton,  furnishing  a  riddle  for  scientists  to  solve. 

They  often  took  long  rides  across  the  country, 
pausing  to  wonder  at  the  remains  of  peach-orchards 
which  they  found  growing  wild  in  watered  dis- 
tricts, showing  that  they  had  been  raised  by  former 
inhabitants,  ruins  of  whose  dwellings  still  re- 
mained, but  nothing  to  tell  who  they  were  or 
whence  they  came.  In  the  mountains  they  came 
upon  deserted  mines,  in  which  shafts  had  been 
excavated,  and  the  tools,  which  were  rudely  formed 
from  pieces  of  stone,  had  been  left  behind.  This 
seemed  to  prove  that  mining  was  among  the 
earliest  industries  of  the  world. 

At  the  Mohave  villages  they  were  always  wel- 
comed, and  Mrs.  Alice  Burton  caressed  the  Indian 
babies,  and  tasted  the  fruit  of  the  Tunies  (another 
species  of  cactus),  while  her  husband  entertained 
the  Indian  chief  with  pictures  and  descriptions  of 
the  large  shij>s  he  had  seen  in  the  bay  at  San 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      193 

Francisco ;  and  they  ate  with  their  copper-colored 
friends,  bread  made  from  the  Mezquite  bean,  which 
grows  wild,  in  a  screw-shaped,  dry,  twisted  pod, 
and  is  pounded  up  by  the  natives,  and  made  into 
bread.  There  is  also  another  wild  species,  the 
pods  of  which  resemble  our  garden  bush-bean ;  and 
the  natives  cook  them  very  much  as  we  do,  and 
they  are  very  palatable ;  but  these  grow  on  trees, 
sometimes  thirty  feet  in  height. 

Sometimes  Alice  took  long  walks  alone,  or  in 
company  with  her  lady  friends  ;  for,  like  her  hus- 
band, she  was  an  earnest  student  of  Nature,  and 
she  liked  to  watch  the  kangaroo  rats  sporting 
among  the  thorny  cactus.  These  curious  animals 
were  about  the  size  of  a  barn  rat,  and  had  large 
eyes,  a  broad  forehead,  and  short  body  and  ears, 
with  a  tuft  of  hair  on  the  end  of  the  tail,  similar  to 
the  lion.  Some  of  fhem  became  so  tame,  that  they 
would  stand  on  their  hind  legs  and  eat  from  her 
hand ;  and  Charlie  told  her  they  were  the  next 
link  to  man  and  the  monkey  in  the  Darwinian 
pedigree.  She  often  saw  large  lizards  basking  in 
the  sunshine,  but  these  would  always  run  with 


194     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHAKLIE. 

lightning-like  swiftness  at  her  approach.  Wher- 
ever she  wandered,  the  limitless  extent  of  flower- 
ing cactus  met  her  view,  for  Arizona  is  a  pointed 
country,  if  nothing  else ;  but  rough  and  rugged  as 
this  country  seems,  those  who  dwell  in  its  salu- 
brious climate,  find  health,  and  often  wealth. 

The  architecture  seems  to  conform  to  the  sur- 
rounding scenery,  and  nearly  all  the  dwellings  are 
of  mud-brick,  with  thick  walls,  which  are  quite 
comfortable ;  but  once  in  a  while  a  frame  house  is 
seen,  with  green  blinds  and  vine-wreathed  piazza ; 
and  one  of  these  we  will  invite  the  reader  to  enter. 

It  is  both  large  and  handsome,  and  stands  upon 
its  rocky  foundation,  near  the  spring  which  fur- 
nishes the  water  by  which  is  run  the  twenty  stamp 
mill  for  the  Mohave  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Com- 
pany. The  large  bay-window,  from  which  is  seen 
the  first  glimpse  of  the  sun  as  it  rises  from  behind 
the  mountains,  opens  into  the  cosy  sitting-room, 
with  its  comfortable  lounges  and  bright  carpet, 
where  Charlie's  mother,  in  her  soft  black  dress, 
relieved  only  by  the  collar  and  cuffs  of  white  linen 
and  the  white  apron  trimmed  with  dainty  lace,  sits 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      195 

in  her  cushioned  rocker,  knitting  a  tiny  sock  of 
soft  wool,  intended  for  the  fat  dimpled  foot  of  the 
black-eyed,  brown-haired  baby,  who  is  crowing  in 
the  black-walnut  crib  in  the  corner.  ^ 

This  rosy-cheeked  cherub  is  Willie  Burton  ;  his 
mother  calls  him  "  Birdie,"  and  we  find  her  at  this 
moment  watering  and  pruning  her  roses  and  gera- 
niums, which  are  in  full  bloom,  and  which  entirely 
fill  one  window  of  the  south-room,  where  we  will 
find  her  sewing-machine,  and  the  cabinet  organ 
upon  which  Charlie  still  gratifies  his  taste  for 
music.  The  soil  for  her  flower-pots,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  tubs  which  sustained  the  ivy  which  is  trained 
over  the  piazza,  has  been  brought  from  the  forest 
beyond  the  mountains ;  and  the  flowers  and  vines 
form  a  bright  contrast  to  the  rugged  surroundings 
of  their  mountain  home. 

Charlie's  study  and  library  adjoins  this  room, 
and  here  he  has  gathered  a  choice  collection  of 
instructive  and  entertaining  books,  and  a  few  of 
the  paintings  which  had  adorned  his  former  home. 

Down  deep  shafts,  through  long,  dark  tunnels 
the  ores  are  daily  being  brought  to  light  and 


196     THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,   CHARLIE. 

yielded  up  to  the  crushing  blows  of  the  mill.  The 
clatter  and  jingle  of  the  stamps  pounding  out  the 
quartz  can  be  heard  from  the  house,  and  it  is  not 
unpleasant  to  its  inmates.  Life  seems  full  of  ani- 
mation as  the  machinery  turns  the  pulverized 
bullion  through  its  many  revolutions,  until  the  bars 
of  silver  and  gold  become  tangible  objects  to  gTeet 
the  eye,  and  promise  plenty  for  the  future  of  old  age. 

Here  in  the  sweet  rest  of  a  quiet  home  Charlie's 
mother  will  tell  you  that  her  son  has  redeemed  his 
promise,  for  her  last  days  bid  fair  to  be  her 
happiest. 

If  my  foster-brother  had  been  permitted  to  grow 
up  in  his  early  home,  he  might  have  had  a  happier 
life  ;  but  he  would  not  have  been  so  well  fitted  for 
a  life  of  usefulness. 

Human  nature  is  elastic,  and  usually  moulds 
itself  to  the  circumstances  by  which  it  is  sur- 
rounded. From  the  lonely  hours  of  waiting,  in 
which  his  boyhood  was  passed,  came  his  patient 
spirit,  prepared  to  struggle  with  adversity — from 
the  hardships  of  his  early  life,  the  strong  arm  and 
vigorous  frame. 


THE  CAREER  OF  THE  STOLEN  BOY,  CHARLIE.      197 

The  proverb  says,  "A  rolling  stone  gathers  no 
moss  ;  "  but  far  better  a  life  of  useful  activity  than 
one  spent  in  simply  accumulating  and  never  distri- 
buting. If  we  were  all  old  mossy  stones,  the  great 
West  would  never  have  been  settled. 


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